First there was Global Crossing Ltd., a $5 billion company which made Bermuda its headquarters and plans on expanding its presence here. Now a group of investors is planning on launching an even larger telecommunications project from Bermuda.

Project Oxygen Ltd., which recently registered in Bermuda as an exempt company, plans on building the world's largest undersea fibre-optic network at a cost of $14.7 billion.

The first phase of the project, servicing 74 countries, will cost $8 billion and will be operational by 2000.

The concept for the project was initiated by CTR Group in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. However company officials told The Royal Gazette yesterday that the company plans on locating its top executives -- including CTR chairman and chief executive Neil Tagare -- at its headquarters on Church Street.

However unlike Global Crossing which will also establish network and customer care centres on the Island at a site on the former baselands in St. David's, Project Oxygen will locate its network centres in the US, the UK, and Singapore.

An official said the network will offer voice, Internet and video services and plans to capitalise on the explosive demand for such services. Unlike Global Crossing, which will sell capacity based on distance and time used, Project Oxygen will charge telephone companies one price for access to the network.

A company official likened the single charge system to the way access to the Internet is currently charged.

"We like to call our network the super Internet of the future,'' he said.

"Everything can be brought into it -- video, voice, the Internet. Video and multimedia is the future and it will be cheap. It will be an economical and everyday occurrence because capacity will be so cheap. Some people are saying that voice will be free and video will be the future.'' He said the company decided to base its headquarters in Bermuda because most of the business was going to come from outside of the US. The customers will be all telephone companies carrying international traffic in the world, Internet providers and broadcasters.

The company's backers include NEC Corp., Tyco International Ltd., Lucent Technologies, and Alcatel Alsthom. Funding will come from a variety of equity investors and debt issues.

"The recent initial public offering by Global Crossing is evidence that there is real interest and demand for global telecommunications services,'' he said.

According to Bloomberg News Project Oxygen expects to award a $4 billion contract by September to NEC, Tyco, and Alcatel. In addition to awarding the equipment contract, Project Oxygen plans to raise about $5 billion in debt and equity by December to pay for the network.