360networks, the owners of TeleBermuda Ltd, announced yesterday it had completed the installation and lighting of an undersea network between the United States and Brazil.

This network is the first fibre optic cable to provide high-speed connectivity between South America and North America.

The 4,200-mile cable connects Tuckerton, New Jersey, Bermuda and Fortaleza, Brazil.

It is now ready for commercial service, and will provide a large bandwidth capacity (of 80 gigabits per second) by mid-March 2001.

This is the first completed segment of 360americas, 17,400-mile network linking North America and South America.

Upon completion in early 2002, the three-ring network will link the United States, Bermuda, Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, and provide system capacity of 1.28 terabits per second.