Paying Cubans Phone Bills from Abroad Now Possible
HAVANA TIMES — Refills for prepaid cell phones and payment of telephone bills via the Internet will be available to Cubans starting this week, announced the official website Cubadebate, citing ETECSA as its source.
“ETECSA [Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba, S.A.] confirms that these services, which are in addition to the recharge of cell phones, will be available beginning on Jan. 21, 2014, from the website www.ezetop.com and may be activated by relatives and friends abroad,” the Cubadebate announcement said.
“According to ETECSA, in addition to refilling cell phones in Cuba, relatives and friends abroad also can:
– “Refill the new service ‘My Prepaid Account.’
– “Pay in convertible pesos (CUC) for the invoices of residential users who pay for telephone service in Cuban pesos (CUP) and are billed in CUC for other services, such as international calls, caller identification and speed dialing.
– “From www.ezetop.com, the refills of service and payment of bills should amount to at least 10 CUC and the interested party may carry out as many operations as he wishes,” ETECSA says.
“It is important to make clear that, if you pay a bill and the money you deposit is more than the amount due, the balance will be held as credit toward future invoices.”
In short, people in the United States and other countries will be able to pay for the telephone bills of their relatives and friends in Cuba through the Internet.
If the bills are overpaid on purpose, the excess money will not be turned over in cash to the cell-phone user but credited to his account.
Payments may be made through VISA and MasterCard.
I have never heard of a rate of $20 per minute call. Yes, Cuban telecoms is expensive. But $20 per minute is exaggeration beyond reason. When you visit Cuba and see the Cuban they do not look like or behave like hostages in totality.
That’s how to ranson 11 million hostages.
The Castro regime is utterly contemptible. The monopoly government-controlled telephone company ETECSA charges among the highest long distance toll rates in the world and then promotes a program to encourage family members to pay the phone bills. Per minute tariffs between Cuba and abroad are as high as $20 per minute! Playing on the emotions of loved ones long separated by medieval immigration policies, the Castros are obviously hopeful to continue to milk the émigré cow. Shameful, truly shameful.