March 29, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 20, 1429

HAVANA, March 28: The Cuban government has lifted a ban on the use of mobile phones by ordinary Cubans, it was announced on Friday, in a further sign of the easing of daily life under new President Raul Castro.

Mobile phones are already prevalent in Cuba but were a luxury mainly reserved for foreigners and government staff. Cubans had to acquire them through a third party and could not obtain a service contract in their own name.

In a statement in the official daily Granma, state telecoms company Etecsa said it was offering mobile phone service to the public through prepaid personal contracts, charged in the “convertible” peso pegged to the US dollar.—AFP