• 1500km undersea cable to bring massive improvement to telecoms services in Cuba
• Major upgrade to Cuba’s Internet and data transmission capabilities
• International phone calls expected to be cheaper
OCHO RIOS Jamaica, Monday February 14 2011 - Following on the recent completion of its East-West Cable linking Jamaica, the British Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic, LIME, the Caribbean’s premier telecoms company, will serve as the strategic landing partner for the Cuba to Jamaica segment of the new undersea fibre-optic cable which is expected to vastly improve telecoms services in Cuba.
Late last year, LIME and its parent company, Cable & Wireless Communications, signed a contract with Telecommunicaciones Gran Caribe (TGC), a joint venture between Cuba (Transbit SA) and Venezuela (Telecom Venezuela). Under the agreement, LIME will be TGC’s strategic landing partner in Jamaica and Cable & Wireless Communications will carry voice and data traffic from Cuba to Europe.
The 240-kilometre segment of the cable which runs from Cuba to Jamaica was landed today in Ocho Rios, St. Ann. The 1500km cable, which originates in Puerto de la Guaira, Venezuela is the first international telecoms cable connect to Cuba for several decades.
The ultra high bandwidth infrastructure is projected to provide the island with data download speeds 3,000 times faster than the satellite technology which Cuba currently utilises. The upgraded facilities are also expected to result in lower costs for international phone calls.
Installation of the cable is projected to be completed during the first half of this year. Once it is operational, the cable will provide direct connectivity between Venezuela, Cuba and Jamaica for voice and data traffic. The historic project will not only develop telecommunications in the Caribbean but it is also expected to give a boost to sectors that rely on it including finance, education, business and tourism.
Tony Rice, CEO at Cable & Wireless Communications said, “Our footprint in the Caribbean is unique and I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with TGC and play a role in developing telecommunications in Cuba.”
David Shaw, CEO of LIME, said “LIME is very pleased to have been chosen by TGC to be its partner in this very important venture. We are a genuine regional company and an important part of our mandate is to ensure that the entire region is served by the most modern telecoms technology available and our enterprise and carrier customers have access to world-class capability.”
LIME’s selection as the regional provider for the TGC fibre-optic cable underscores the company’s position as a leading wholesale supplier of telecoms capacity within the Caribbean. The company recently completed installation of its East-West Cable which completes a Caribbean “network ring” and will triple available bandwidth.
Jamaica News