Cuba to get mobile 3G Internet access

Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Cuba announced this week that 3G Internet access will become available for cell phone users on the Caribbean island nation for the first time starting Thursday.

The communist country, which has denied such services commonplace in many other parts of the world under regime leaders Fidel Castro and brother Raul, has only had access to home Internet and public Wi-Fi hotspots since 2017, CNBC reported.

Cuba's state-run telecom company Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba, or ETECSA, announced the move on its website Tuesday. The company will offer data packages of $7 for 600 megabytes to $30 for 4 gigabytes.

President Barack Obama ended the U.S. policy of diplomatic isolation with Cuba that lasted more than 50 years in December 2014, allowing U.S. businesses to enter the island nation's market. The move also re-established embassies in Washington, D.C., and Havana, USA Today.

President Donald Trump, though, rolled back some of those initiatives in 2017 by placing renewed restrictions on travel to and business dealings with Cuba. The rollback affected stores, hotels and tourist agencies.