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11/21/2024 06:32:10 pm

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T-Mobile to Offer Roaming Services in Cuba

T-Mobile is offering Sprint customers a $200 bill credit should they decide to switch.

(Photo : Getty Images) T-Mobile's roaming service is now available in Cuba.

T-Mobile has announced that it has struck a roaming deal with state-owned Cuban network provider Empresa de Telecommunicaciones de Cuba SA (ETECSA). This deal will allow tourists and visitors to use text, voice, and data services starting this summer.

The deal from T-Mobile and ETECSA follows the loosening of trade and travel restrictions between Cuba and the United States. An act pushed by the Obama administration and implemented last year.

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Two more US carriers, Sprint and Verizon, announced a similar deal last fall. Tech giant Google is also looking for growth opportunities in Cuba, with hopes of expanding the country's Internet access.

In a statement, T-Mobile chief executive officer John Legere said, "The historic opening of Cuba is a natural opportunity for us to take action, and we are. That's the Un-carrier way! We have more customers of Cuban descent than any other wireless provider - so connecting them with family and friends in Cuba is a message we heard loud and clear!"

Legere added that T-Mobile currently provides service to 36.6 percent of Cuban-born wireless network users in the US. On top of that, the CEO said that Cuba is the number one most requested destination that T-Mobile customers ask to be added to the company's international roaming program.

The network has yet to announce the official pricelist of its roaming plans. Verizon and Sprint customers pay around $2 per megabyte when they are using roaming services in Cuba.

Prior to the recent historic opening of Cuba to the United States, a trade embargo that lasted for 50 years severely affected Havana's economic growth. As a result of this embargo, communications and technological infrastructure in Cuba had failed to keep up with modern standards, especially in wireless communication and the Internet.

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