Cuba and US firm sign telecoms agreement on roaming

Cuba's state telecommunications company and US firm Sprint have signed an agreement for cellphone roaming service, the first direct deal of its kind between phone companies in both countries.

The agreement was announced yesterday at the International Fair of Havana, which this year features about 900 companies, a third of them Cuban. About 70 countries are represented, including the United States, with some 20 firms.

The agreement will allow Sprint subscribers visiting Cuba to send and receive calls and text messages directly through the state company Etecsa, which has the monopoly for telecommunications service on the island.

Verizon in September began offering the first cellphone roaming service in Cuba through the firm's Pay-As-You-Go International travel option. But the service is through third companies, not directly through Etecsa.