Cubans to Be Allowed to Buy Mobile Phones

It did not quite answer calls for freedom and change, but the reform announced yesterday did at least offer freedom from change for calls.

Cuba's government lifted restrictions on the ownership and use of mobile phones, marking a small but significant step away from the Fidel Castro era.

A decree published in the Communist party newspaper, Granma, said the public could have prepaid contracts for mobile phones, a luxury previously reserved for senior party officials and employees of foreign companies.

The decision means less fumbling for change for pay phones and raised hopes that the new president, Raúl Castro, would relax other economic and political controls.

Cuba's telecommunications monopoly, Etesca, made the announcement in a small insert on page two of Granma. "Etesca is able to offer mobile phone service to the public," it said.

Contracts will have to be paid for in Cuban convertible pesos, a parallel currency geared towards tourists and foreigners worth 24 times the peso used by most Cubans.

Few will initially be able to afford the opportunity - there was no scramble for mobile phones yesterday - but the decree was welcomed as evidence that the authorities were serious about addressing longstanding grievances.

"This shows there is a change in mentality at the top and recognition that Cuba has to move into the 21st century," a young computer technician, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

Some Cubans have a mobile phone service in the name of foreigners or their companies, but the island still has the lowest mobile phone use in Latin America.

Etesca, which operates as a joint venture with the Italian communications company Italcom, said it would invest revenues in improving its network and eventually offer a mobile phone service in the commonly held pesos.

"In coming days the population will be informed about the procedures for changing the title of Cuban citizens who until today have acquired [mobile phones] indirectly and the start of the new contracts for natural-born Cubans who are interested," the statement said.

Since the ailing Fidel resigned last month, Raúl, 76, has made cautious efforts to ease the material hardships which make daily life a grind and erode confidence in the government. The new president, who is deemed less ideological than his charismatic brother, has promised to focus on competence and service delivery and to reduce bureaucracy.