IDT Corporation To Provide International Long Distance Telephone Service Between US And Cuba

U.S. multinational telecommunications giant IDT Corp. (NYSE:IDT) announced Thursday it has reached an agreement with Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A., Cuba’s national telecom provider, to exchange international long distance voice traffic between the U.S. and Cuba directly. The announcement comes following revisions to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations announced by the U.S. government earlier this month.

IDT will be the only U.S. carrier to have a direct interconnection into Cuba if the FCC approves the agreement. “This is an important first step in the liberalization of telecommunications between the U.S. and Cuba,” Bill Pereira, chief executive officer of IDT Telecom, said in a statement Thursday. “Ultimately, the agreement will help make it easier and more affordable for our customers to call friends and family in Cuba.”

The company said the agreement was filed Thursday with the Federal Communications Commission and is subject to FCC review for a period of ten days.

IDT Corp., which employs over 1,250 people across 21 countries, has revenues in excess of $1.6 billion. Shares of the company fell 1.44 percent Thursday to close at $21.95, and the stock edged down 0.05 percent to $21.94 in after-hours trading.