US, Cuba Teams Discuss Telecommunications Issues

Telecommunications issues between the US and Cuba has been a long standing problem.  A deal has been signed early in March between ETECSA and a New Jersey IDT to restore direct telephone connections between Cuba and the US.

A U.S. delegation visited Cuba this week as the two nations continued efforts to restore diplomatic relations broken over 50 years ago.

The delegation, led by Daniel Sepulveda, the U.S. State Department’s coordinator for international communications, held talks with Cuban officials led by Jose Luis Perdomo, the island nation’s deputy communications minister. A statement by Havana says the Cuban side offered the U.S. delegation information about the country’s computer systems and cybersecurity policy.

Earlier this month, Cuba’s state-owned telephone company ETECSA announced it had signed a deal with New Jersey-based IDT to restore direct telephone connections between the U.S. and Cuba.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced last December the two countries would end their bitter Cold War-era rivalry.

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The U.S. Treasury Department announced Tuesday it had removed dozens of Cuban companies and individuals from its list of “specially designated nationals” who are banned from doing business in the United States.”

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