Newark, March 9 (RHC)-– The first U.S. company to strike a long-distance deal with Cuba since the Obama administration announced a telecom opening toward the island is now handling direct calls to Cuba.

“Now we can terminate and make calls directly to Cuba,” Bill Ulrey, vice president of investor relations for Newark, New Jersey-based IDT Corp told EFE news agency.

Previously, under the condition of Washington's blockade of Cuba, U.S. carriers couldn't make direct calls to the island and had to use a non-U.S. carrier for the final connection.

IDT reached an agreement with Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba (ETECSA), the island’s national telecom provider, to exchange international long-distance traffic in February, and the Federal Communications Commission gave IDT the green light for the deal.