U.S. President George W. Bush announced Wednesday a change in policy that would allow Americans to send cell phones to family members in Cuba.

During the celebration that marked the first "Day of Solidarity With the Cuban People," which took place in the White House East Room, president Bush also added the whole situation depended on the Cuban government, which will decide whether it will allow the Cuban citizens receive the phones.

Bush said he had made the change following President Raul Castro’s decision to allow Cubans to own mobile phones for the first time.

"If the Cuban regime is serious about improving life for the Cuban people, it will take steps necessary to make these changes meaningful," Bush said at the White House.

Bush recalled that Cubans were allowed to purchase computers, DVD players and mobile phones, and that they had also been promised they would be able buy toasters and other similar basic appliances in 2010.

The Cuban government has not commented on the U.S. policy change yet.

Dan Fisk, National Security Council senior director for Western hemisphere affairs, said the new policy did not represent a loosening of the U.S. embargo against Cuba, which has been lasting for decades. The change will only mean cell phones can be included in gift parcels that are sent to families in Cuba.

According to Reuters, Fisk also said phones sold in Cuba can cost $120 plus another $120 to activate them, but he did not mention how much the service cost.

The average monthly wage in Cuba is less than $20, but U.S. regulations allow U.S. families to send $100 a month to relatives in Cuba, so that they can pay for the phone service, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

"Through these measures the United States is reaching out to the Cuban people, yet we know that life will not fundamentally change for Cubans until their form of government changes," Bush said, as quoted by Reuters.