Havana calling - US, Cuba re-establish direct undersea telephone cable

Havana calling: US, Cuba re-establish direct undersea telephone cable
Published time: March 11, 2015 23:35

The US and Cuba have restored a direct telecommunication connection
between the two countries as they re-establish diplomatic relations. The
cable currently only carries phone calls, but could be expanded to other
services, Cuba's telecom company said.

"This breakthrough contributes to offer greater opportunities, and
better quality in the communications between the people of both
nations," Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba SA (ETECSA), the
country's national telecommunications company, said in a statement. "The
[resumption] of direct communications between the United States and Cuba
contributes to offer greater opportunities and better quality in the
communications between the people of both nations."

The re-establishment was announced on February 20 as part of an
agreement of services between ETECSA and IDT Domestic Telecom, Inc., an
American company. The deal was approved by the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) after a 10-day review, making IDT the only US telecom
carrier to have a direct connection to Cuba, the company said.

"We are very pleased to have reached this groundbreaking agreement with
ETECSA. This is an important first step in the liberalization of
telecommunications between the US and Cuba," Bill Pereira, IDT Telecom's
CEO, said in a statement. "Ultimately, the agreement will help make it
easier and more affordable for our customers to call friends and family
in Cuba."

The history of telecommunications between the US and Cuba "is long and
contentious," according to the National Law Review.

For decades before the Cuban Revolution, the two countries were
connected by undersea cables for telegraph and telephone services. In
1959, Fidel Castro confiscated the Cuban Telephone Company from
International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT), a US-based conglomerate
that owned a majority stake in the company.

After the US imposed an embargo on its island neighbor in the 1960s, the
American government permitted AT&T to use its undersea cable, but did
not allow it to add capacity. The cable became unusable in the 1980s,
forcing long-distance phone calls between the United States and Cuba to
be routed through third parties via satellite uplinks. At that point,
AT&T could not pay Cuba for long-distance calls, and deposited the money
into escrow accounts. "The controversy over the release of these funds
became another contentious chapter in US-Cuba relations," the National
Law Review said.

With the passage of the Cuban Democracy Act in the 1990s, the FCC
authorized US carriers to provide direct-dial service to Cuba via
satellite. At least one American company presented a plan to install and
operate a new undersea cable stretching the 90 miles between the two
countries. But a 1996 law in Cuba prevented the connection from being
laid, and the US never approved the cpmpany's plans for the cable.

Direct-dial service was shut down in 2000 after a monetary dispute
between the two countries. The Cuban government eventually approved a
plan that connected the island to Venezuela and Jamaica, as opposed to
choosing a 2009 plan that would have linked it with the US.

"This was an interesting ‒ and revealing ‒ move by the Cuban government,
since it would have been cheaper (and it would have taken less time) to
connect to any of the many international undersea cables that already
pass nearby," the National Law Review wrote. "Cuba, however chose the
more expensive cable that bypasses the US altogether."

The newly laid cable will benefit the nearly two million Cuban
immigrants in the US who have relatives remaining on the island, AFP
reported. While the undersea connection currently only allows for phone
calls, Cubans are hopeful that it will soon bring internet services from
the US. The island has low service coverage in homes, and internet cafes
charge an average of $4.50 per connection.

IDT is the largest US-based provider of international calls in the
world, according to its website.

Source: Havana calling: US, Cuba re-establish direct undersea telephone
cable — RT USA - http://rt.com/usa/239853-us-cuba-telephone-cable-link/