T-Mobile today announced it has signed an interconnect and roaming agreement with Empresa De Telecomunicaciones De Cuba, S.A. (ETECSA), the Cuban telecommunications company.
The new deal enables the “Un-carrier” to do its part to open communications between the U.S. and the island nation, delivering more affordable voice calling for customers who want to keep in touch with friends and family in Cuba, as well as voice, text and data roaming for customers traveling to Cuba starting this summer.
In September of last year, Verizon became the first US carrier to offer roaming services in Cuba. Sprint followed the next month with roaming service in Cuba. In March 2016, AT&T told The Dallas Morning News today that it’s in negotiations with ETECSA.
“The historic opening of Cuba is a natural opportunity for us to take action, and we are. That’s the Un-carrier way!” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “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!”
T-Mobile claims more than a third (36.6%) of Cuban-born wireless customers are with T-Mobile in the US, more than AT&T and triple the number of Verizon customers. And, customers in Cuban-American hubs like Miami are choosing T-Mobile and MetroPCS nearly twice as often as AT&T or Verizon. Cuba is the #1 requested addition to T-Mobile’s international roaming on social media.
As a result of today’s agreement, T-Mobile Simple Choice customers will be able to:
- Call landlines and wireless phones in Cuba from the U.S. for just $0.60 per minute – 65 percent less than today – with the popular monthly “Stateside International Talk” feature ($15 per month) and
- Use voice, text, and data while traveling in Cuba, starting this summer.