Cell phone activation cheaper by half

As announced in Granma, the cost to activate a cellphone has dropped from $120 to $65.

With phone in hand, one can purchase prepaid cards that deplete by minute used.

Since the cost of a call is about $0.30/minute, most Cubans that own cellphones use them as pagers--noting the incoming number and calling back on a land line.

Most cellphone owners are city dwellers--predominantly in Havana.

It still can take years to have a land line installed in one's home--and one's place in the waiting list is secured through one's workplace.

Apparently, this slashing of activation rates--which will grow clientele--is prospectively good for business.