ETECSA and IDT Telecom strike deal ILD calls between US and Cuba

Cuba’s state-owned telecoms Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba SA (ETECSA) has inked a deal with US-based telco IDT Telecom to provide direct international long-distance (ILD) calls between the two countries. The agreement was signed yesterday with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and according to Reuters, is now subject to a ten-day review.

If ratified, the agreement will become the first such deal between the US and Cuba, making IDT Corp the only US carrier with a direct interconnection into Cuba. Bill Pereira, chief executive officer of IDT, commented on the potentially ground-breaking deal, saying: ‘This is an important first step in the liberalisation of telecommunications between the US and Cuba.’