In a sign of further steps towards the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) removed the communist nation from its “Exclusion List,’ a global regulatory structure for telecommunications, making it possible for US telecom companies to establish a physical presence in the country and to increase business ties with the government.
The FCC noted in a statement that “Cuba was the last remaining country on the Commission’s Exclusion List. “By removing Cuba from the Exclusion list, the Commission opens the door for U.S. telecom carriers to provide facilities-based telephone and Internet service to Cuba without separate approval from the Commission.”
Additionally, the order, which was recommended by the US State Department last year and what some companies have publically supported for months, means that US companies can now establish communication links between the two countries and US telecoms can hire Cuban citizens to work in their operations. The move is seen as a win for the US business community which seeks the island as a fertile, untapped resource.
The international rights group Freedom House noted that “Cuba has long ranked as one of the world’s most repressive environments for information and communication technologies.”
The FCC’s statement added that “providing the same treatment for service to Cuba by removing this country from the exclusion list would help increase the flow of information to and from the Cuban people.”
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