Sprint Signs Deal to Offer Roaming Service in Cuba

HAVANA—Sprint Corp. signed a direct roaming agreement Monday with the Cuban government, the first such deal since U.S. President Barack Obama began loosening regulations on telecommunications firms and other sectors in December.

Marcelo Claure, Sprint's CEO, and Hilda Arias, the mobile services director of Cuban state-owned telecommunications company ETECSA, signed the agreement at Havana's International Fair, the annual trade expo that Cuban officials said is larger this year than ever.

Mr. Claure and Ms. Arias made brief remarks and signed the agreement in a meeting space on the second floor of the EXPOCUBA, where Cuban and international press were squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder to photograph the handshake, one of many firsts since the U.S. and Cuba agreed to move to normalize ties last year.

As part of the thaw, Mr. Obama loosened restrictions on travel and trade, including many aimed at facilitating better communications between the U.S. and Cuba as well as on the island.

About two million people in Cuba, out of a total population of about 11 million, have cellphones. The Cuban government has said the longtime U.S. embargo had hindered the country's development and that it hopes to reach 60% mobile device access by 2020. The agreement will allow any Sprint customer to use their phone in Cuba as they would in the U.S.

Sprint began talks with the Cuban government to offer roaming service and direct calls in December, shortly after Mr. Obama's announcement. Sprint and ETECSA reached an agreement on direct calls in September. Sprint's roaming service here will begin in the next few weeks.

"They have three million tourists, out of which only 50,000 are Americans," Mr. Claure said in an interview at the fair. "We believe that the moment that that gets lifted, which we hope will be soon, this is going to be the hottest place in the world that Americans want to come see, and we want to make sure they're going to be able to use their phones."

Verizon Wireless Inc. began offering roaming service in Cuba in September. That agreement, however, was secured through Vodafone, rather than directly with the Cuban government.

Mr. Claure said Monday's agreement was a first step and he'd look at other ways to work with the Cuban government in the future, potentially including formation of a joint venture, which was recently allowed in regulations announced in September.

Write to Felicia Schwartz at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 02, 2015 17:55 ET (22:55 GMT)

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