Havana, April 24 (Inditop.com/EFE) The number of cell phone subscribers in Cuba will exceed one million by the end of this year after the government in 2008 allowed cell phone service for ordinary Cubans, a luxury previously reserved for foreigners, companies and state agencies.
Cuba has invested some $150 million since 2003 to develop the island’s cellular phone industry, the vice president of ETECSA’s mobile services, Maximo Lafuente, said Thursday, adding that the projection for 2015 is 2.4 million subscribers.
Cell phone users will enjoy significant cost savings on calls beginning June 1. Activation cost for cell phones has fallen from the original price of $120 to the current cost of $43, while rates for national and international calls will fall by between 42 percent and 75 percent depending on the destination, Lafuente said.
The lifting of the restriction was one of the first measures Raul Castro adopted after formally succeeding ailing older brother Fidel in February 2008, along with allowing the unrestricted sale of computers, DVD players and other consumer goods.
However, 23 out of the island’s 169 municipalities are still without mobile phone coverage because they are located in mountainous or swampy areas.
