President Barack Obama has taken on a normalization of relations with Cuba and, among the first waves of activity are deregulation of telecom services by the Federal Communications Commission. As part of the move, new reports suggest U.S. mobile giant AT&T is trying to work a deal with Cuba’s state-owned telecom company Etecsa.
According to NBC News, an unnamed source with knowledge of the talks said “while there are discussions with Etecsa, there is no agreement in place.” Morningstar, citing a U.S. official, reports AT&T is working on a roaming agreement.
Earlier this year the FCC took Cuba off an exclusion list, effectively allowing U.S. telecommunications companies to begin providing service in the island nation governed by aging communist leader Fidel Castro, whose brother Raul has been the public face of the regime for the past few years. The FCC has also proposed a role that would make it easier for carriers to provide international service linking Cuba to the rest of the world.
Daniel Sepulveda, deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of State, has been working on developing telecom policy in Cuba and in January told the Miami Herald Cuban authorities are potentially signaling a slow process.
“We’re doing as much as we possible can on our side,” Sepulveda said. “At this point, the biggest thing that is missing is trust.”
