Cuban phone officials say ability to call to and from U.S. has been re-established

[flamingdem]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/cuban-phone-officials-say-ability-to-call-to-and-from-u-s-has-been-re-established/

The United States and Cuba have re-established a direct telephone link, the Cuban state telecommunications company said Wednesday, in the latest step toward normalizing ties between the one-time Cold War foes.

For the first time since 1999, calls can now be made directly from the United States to Cuba and vice versa, without passing through a third country, the company, Etecsa, said in a statement.

“The reestablishment of direct communications between the United States and Cuba contributes to providing better infrastructure and better communications quality between the people of both nations,” Etecsa said.

The connection was set up through a February deal signed with New Jersey-based firm IDT Domestic Telecom.

It was the first agreement signed between Cuban and American companies since the announcement on December 17 that the two countries would renew diplomatic ties after more than 50 years of hostility.

The telephone link between the two countries has been interrupted and restored numerous times since Fidel Castro came to power in the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and began nationalizing American-owned companies in the 1960s.

But this is the first time the connection has been restored since February 25, 1999, according to Cuban authorities.

[Judi Lynn]

1. It's the only method that makes sense, isn't it?The other way was grotesque. Thanks, flamingdem. n/t