The US and Cuba reopened a direct telephone line.

(Baonghean.vn) - On Wednesday, March 11th, the Cuban company Etecsa announced the reopening of a direct telephone line between the United States and Cuba after 16 years of severed communication.

Direct telephone lines between the United States and Cuba were completely cut off in 1999. Photo: AP/Ramon Espinosa

According to the announcement, Cuba's Etecsa and the US company Domestic Telecom reached an agreement in February regarding the use of communication facilities. Initially, the companies will cooperate in the field of telephone services.

When diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed in the 1960s, direct telephone lines between them were frequently interrupted and completely cut off in 1999. Since then, when people in both countries want to call each other, they are forced to call through a third country at very high rates.

With this agreement, Etecsa hopes that reopening the direct telephone line will help people access telecommunication services with better quality and at much lower prices than before.

Reportedly, this is part of the normalization process between the US and Cuba. Accordingly, the US government announced it would ease export restrictions to Cuba in the fields of telecommunications, internet, software, consumer equipment, and infrastructure.

Chu Thanh

According to Le Monde, March 11th.