GlobeNet Communications Group Ltd., the holding company of operating subsidiary TeleBermuda International Ltd., has contracted IBM Global Services to research the economic potential of a proposed submarine cable system running from Bermuda to South America and then to the US.

The project is the next stage in GlobeNet's plan to extend its network. The company currently has a fibre-optic cable running to the US from Bermuda, which TeleBermuda has been using to provide international telephone service on the Island since April 1997.

TeleBermuda estimates it now carries a third of all telecommunications traffic generated in Bermuda. The company competes with Cable & Wireless on the Island.

The proposed addition, named Atlantica-1, will link Bermuda to Brazil, then run through Venezuela, the Caribbean, Florida and then to New Jersey to link up with the company's existing cable.

"GlobeNet has employed the consultancy skills of IBM Global Services to help determine the demand for broadband capacity that is being driven by the explosive growth in the Internet, multimedia applications, and e-commerce activities,'' GlobeNet chairman and chief executive officer Mike Kedar said.

"...The high-speed bandwidth to be delivered by Atlantica, combined with the rapid deployment of domestic telecommunications infrastructures, will alleviate the current bottlenecks in the present international information channels, and help facilitate growth in Latin American economies.'' The IBM study will assess the economies of each country within the South American market the company hopes to target for service, and will be used for pre-sale financing of the proposed network.

Atlantica-1 will be the first private system to be deployed between North America and Brazil, the company stated. Current demand forecasts indicate an annual growth rate of between 75 percent to 100 percent in capacity in both North and South America.

GlobeNet proposes to have Atlantica-1 ready for service by the end of 2000.

The company also plans on building Atlantica-2, a network connecting Bermuda with Spain, Portugal, Italy and the UK. Atlantica-2 is slated to be completed by 2002.

Michael Kedar