Bush says he will allow cell phones to be sent to Cuba

In a test of the country's recently instituted economic reforms, the US will now permit cell phones to be sent to the Communist country, despite the continued presence of economic sanctions.

Cuban President Raul Castro has implemented several changes since taking power in February, some of which included the ability to purchase electronic devices including computers, cell phones, and DVD players.

With the average income in Cuba around $15 per month, and US residents permitted to only send their relatives $1,200 per year, luxuries such as cell phones are out of the reach of many. Add to this the fact that Cubacel -- the country's only cellular provider -- has cell coverage available for less than a quarter of the island, and the plan may sound better than it actually is.

A phone costs about $120 in Cuba, and costs 50 cents per minute to use. Cubacel uses the GSM network operating at 900 MHz, which means a tri or quad-band phone would need to be purchased in order for it to even be used.

That is not stopping President Bush, however, who says that if Castro is serious about the reforms he's implemented, the phones will be allowed to reach Cuba's citizens. At the same time, he added that true reform would not be possible until their form of government changes.

As expected, the Cuban lobby in Washington did not respond positively to the developments. "You can't eat cell phones," one said. Republican Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona said a better way to fix Cuba's problems would be to lift the trade embargo altogether.

Such calls for renewed economic relations between the US and Cuba have increased recently, although the Bush Administration has stood in firm opposition to any change up until this point.

In a response to e-mails received by the White House from individuals this afternoon, the President's Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Dan Fisk, wrote to a fellow named Darryl writing from Havana, "The United States Government constantly reviews and assesses it foreign policy towards Cuba. The change in our regulations announced by President Bush yesterday to allow Americans to send mobile phones to their relatives in Cuba is an example of this process. However, the core of our policy -- supporting the restoration of fundamental human rights to the Cuban people -- remains steadfast."