telecommunications traffic in Europe, not Bermuda. But it says it remains committed to the Island. Ahmed ElAmin reports In a setback for Government's attempt to develop a technology business centre at the former Baselands, international telecommunications company Global Crossing Ltd. has decided not to install its multi-million dollar network monitoring operation at the site.

Bermuda-based Global Crossing said the company's headquarters and customer care centre would still remain on the Island, located at Wessex House on Reid Street.

However, due to the company's recent expansion in 18 European cities, the company has now decided to change some of its plans for the Island. The operations centre to monitor voice and data traffic over its worldwide network will be located in Europe, Global Crossing senior vice president Eugene Shutler said.

"It made more sense from a business point of view,'' Mr. Shutler said.

"About 60 to 75 percent of telecommunications traffic is between the US and Europe. For now about 90 percent of our traffic will be out in Europe. It makes more sense to monitor it out in Europe.'' He emphasised however that the company was still committed to Bermuda, noting the customer care centre, and accounting, and billing was being done from the Island. The company, with about 50 employees, now takes up a floor and a half at Wessex House.

"The customer care centre is the biggest facilities in terms of numbers of employees,'' he said. "The people we hired for network operations will continue on with the company. We are changing so rapidly that we will continue to grow here.'' Global Crossing is currently laying a worldwide network of digital fibre optic cable systems -- including a link through Bermuda -- so as to sell capacity to international telecommunications companies.

The company's backers are betting billions of dollars on the future of international telecommunications growth. The company's trans-Atlantic cable, connecting the US with the UK, Germany and the Netherlands is already complete and in use. The company has signed contracts and arranged financing to extend its network to the Americas and Asia.

Atlantic Crossing went into commercial service this May. The other segments of the network are Pacific Crossing connecting the US and Japan, the Mid-Atlantic Crossing connecting the eastern US, Bermuda, and the Caribbean, and the Pan-American Crossing, connecting the western US, Central America, and the Caribbean. The Mid-Atlantic crossing is scheduled to being service in late 1999. Global Crossing also has offices in Los Angeles, Morristown, New Jersey San Franscisco, and London.

In October Global Crossing Ltd. reported revenues of $117.7 million and a profit of $15.2 million for third quarter ended September 30. The company had net income of $485,000 in the same period last year when it was just commencing operations.

Since the company put 21 million shares on the market at $19 in an initial public offering in August, the stock has doubled in price to about $39. If you had picked up the stock when it fell to $16, the gain would have been 121 percent.