Desmond Boylan / Reuters

People walk along a street housing privately licensed stalls, set up at the entrances of homes in Havana Dec. 8, 2011. Cuba will allow private advertisements in the state-run phone directory for the first time in half a century, state media reported Thursday, in the latest move to a more open economy. President Raul Castro is pushing through a range of reforms in an attempt to strengthen Cuba's struggling Soviet-style economy by encouraging more private initiative and reducing the role and size of the state in some sectors.

Cuba phone book to let new entrepreneurs run ads

By Rich Shulman

This photo, shot to illustrate an economy story, works on many levels. As private entrepreneurs struggle to build businesses, the move to spur yellow pages advertising seems as antiquated as the old car in the center of the photo. In the Internet age, this seems like way too little too late.

AP reports:

HAVANA — The yellow pages are poised for a comeback — in Cuba, at least.

The back section of the phone book will soon provide much-need advertising space to private entrepreneurs opening up shop under wide-ranging economic reforms being pushed by President Raul Castro.

State telephone monopoly Etecsa will charge $10 for a listing in a basic registry that includes a firm's name, address and up to two phone numbers, the Communist Party newspaper Granma said Thursday.

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