Sprint unit Boost Mobile offers prepaid wireless service to Cuba

Boost Mobile, part of Overland Park-based Sprint, on Thursday launched a prepaid plan for U.S. consumers calling and texting Cuba, taking advantage of new, relaxed U.S. commercial regulations with the Communist-run island nation.

The Obama administration’s new Cuban policy regulations approved by the Treasury and Commerce departments have opened the door for U.S.-based telecommunications firms to start potentially lucrative services to Cuba.

Boost Mobile offers prepaid wireless service to consumers with no need for long-term subscription contracts.

The company announced a $50 monthly plan, allowing customers to pay about 30 cents a minute, which it described as the lowest introductory rate per minute among prepaid carriers to call Cuba. The plan, available only through Boost locations in the Miami area, includes unlimited texting.

The service, called Cuba Monthly Connect, is the “perfect plan for Miami residents looking for the best value to call Cuba,” said Dow Draper, president of Boost Mobile.

In a show of solidarity with young Cuban-Americans eager to improve connectivity with the island, Boost is donating $10,000 to Roots of Hope, a group of young Cuban-American professionals at the forefront of President Barack Obama’s policy of engagement with Cuba.

This story was originally published April 16, 2015 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Sprint unit Boost Mobile offers prepaid wireless service to Cuba."