fibre optic system, which is now in service.

The $17-million system, known as the Taino Carib Cable System, was laid last summer by the Bermuda-based Mercury , owned by Cable and Wireless (Marine) Ltd.

Mr. John Instone, public relations officer for Cable and Wireless in Hamilton, said the system has gone into service in the last two weeks.

While it will improve the quality and reliability of communications in the Caribbean generally, it will mainly serve as a possible back-up for Bermuda, which has other communications systems already in place.

The 112-mile-long system links Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. The distance between the landing points means the system will not require signal repeaters, making it the first repeaterless submarine cable system, Mr. Instone said in a news release.

It was completed by a group of international telecommunications carriers which included Cable and Wireless, AT and T, Telefonica Larga Distancia of Puerto Rico, and Sprint Communications Co.

The system has a capacity equivalent to about 225,000 simultaneous telephone conversations, he said.