AT&T Announces Pricing Details For New Cuba Roaming Options

About a couple of months ago, we reported that major US mobile operator AT&T had inked a new deal that would let it offer cheaper roaming options for subscribers planning to visit Cuba. Just recently, the second biggest wireless carrier in the United States has decided to publish the pricing details for its new roaming options for the island nation. 

Indeed, customers under any plan of AT&T’s who are heading to Cuba can now make voice calls, send text messages and MMS, and surf the Internet using their smartphones or tablet devices, with charges summarized as follows:

• Voice calls -- $3 a minute

• Short message service (SMS) -- $0.50 a text message

• Multimedia messaging service (MMS) -- $1.30 a message

• Data -- $2.05 a megabyte

Although some users will still be hoping that the rates be made lower, but all in all, it is a fair offer, considering that AT&T previously did not offer roaming options to Cuba before. And if one looks closely, the wireless carrier’s rates for Cuba are actually comparable to most pay per use charges applied to other locations across the globe, for customers who opt not to get a travel package like AT&T Passport. AT&T’s Passport plan already comes with affordable rates for voice calls, unlimited text messaging, and data, all at $40 a month, but it does not come with any roaming option for Cuba. 

When compared to Verizon Wireless’ Cuba roaming offer, AT&T’s are pretty much the same. As for subscribers of Sprint, they have the option of availing of the Open World add on, which offers voice calls in Cuba for $2.49 a minute, text messaging for $0.50 a text, and data for $1.99 a megabyte. At T-Mobile, subscribers get access to all the voice calls, text messaging, and data included in their domestic mobile plan while traveling to Cuba, with no additional fees whatsoever, courtesy of the mobile operator’s Mobile Without Borders service.

Bill Hague, AT&T’s executive vice president of worldwide connection management, Cuba is now starting to be considered by the wireless industry as one of the fastest growing international calling destinations for mobile users, not only subscribers of AT&T, but also those signed up under other wireless carriers. After President Barack Obama reinstated America’s diplomatic relations with Cuba about a year ago, it is now easier for people to go visit the island nation. And it has been a long wait -- it took some fifty years before diplomatic ties between the US and Cuba have been restored.

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