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Apr. 15, 2009

President Barack Obama has almost removed all Cuban embargo constraints yesterday, opening Cuba to U.S. telecom carriers, both landline and wireless.

Overall, Americans can now send a variety of mobile devices to Cuba, including mobile handsets, computers, laptops, software and even satellite receivers.

U.S. citizens now can also activate and pay for telecom service in Cuba as long as the service is provided by a U.S. or third-country company. The move is seen as a major plus that will help U.S. carriers in breaking into that new market.

The Obama Administration's new policy authorizes U.S. phone companies to establish satellite and fiber-optic links to Cuba, and to enter into roaming agreements with Cuban wireless service providers.

Satellite radio and TV companies also benefit as they are now allowed to provide services Cuba as well.

Chris King, an analyst with Stifel Telecom Equity Research says “with more than eleven million residents, very few of whom have a mobile phone, Cuba would almost certainly be viewed as a very attractive new market for wireless carriers.”

“Names that come to our mind as potential players would include America Movil, Digicell, Millicom, Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint Nextel,” added King.

Digicell spokeswoman Antonia Graham declined to comment, as did Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeff Nelson and Sprint Nextel spokesman John Taylor.

AT&T spokeswoman Jenny Bridges said that while AT&T would certainly study the President’s proposal, they could not comment beyond that point. Neither American Movil nor Millicom replied to requests for comment by this time.

King added that there are still many questions that remain, including how the Cuban government would view these telecom changes in U.S. policy.

It is still unclear whether Cuba’s communist regime will allow American companies to access into the country’s telecom market, as doing so would circumvent its government's tight controls.

The Cuban government lifted its own ban on the ownership of mobile phones by private citizens only a few weeks ago, and it is estimated that less than 8.1 percent of the population had a mobile handset in 2007.

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Source: LNN.