(Fibre-optic Link Around the Globe) Ltd. tomorrow initiates service for commercial traffic on the global telecommunications system, with Bermuda connected via a TeleBermuda International cable.

Installation, marketing and other costs for the FLAG cable have already totalled $1.5 billion for the scheme that was designed to build the world's longest fibre-optic submarine cable, linking telecomunications carriers around the world.

Bell Atlantic is the major shareholder of FLAG, owning some 38 percent, and its subsidiary has the exclusive sales contract to market and sell capacity on the system.

John Parry, president of the subsidiary, Bell Atlantic Network Systems (Bermuda) Ltd., said from his Hamilton office this week, "There is a lot of enthusiasm with the first live date on Saturday. The project is on time and on budget. And sales are proceeding better than could be anticipated.

"We have about $400 million worth of sales already, which is quite unusual for a private system to have that kind of sales prior to being ready for service. I think it is unique in the history of private systems.'' "We expect to be taking more orders in the next two to three months for activiation in 1998. But we are projecting another $300 million to $400 million worth of sales in the first year to the end of 1998.

"There are different prices for each route. On a short route like the UK to Spain or Japan to Korea, the cost would be $45,000 for a half a minimum investment unit. Usually, telecoms or carriers, correspond with one another, each buying a half of the circuit. We sell in minimum investment units of thirty 64-kilobyte circuits.

"So you would have a carrier in Spain buying a half and a carrier in the UK buying a half, giving us $90,000. With longer routes, that ranges up to $1,000,000.

"We have 66 carriers which have purchased capacity, including the largest in the world and many newly-emerging ones. By the end of next year, we will probably have 80 to 100 carriers that have purchased capacity.'' The state of the art equipment, synchronous digital hierarchy, can connect with any standard in the world.

The longest man-made structure ever in the world is 27,300 kilometres in length, with ten gigabits of capacity on two fibre pairs, capable of handling up to 600,000 simultaneous telephone conversations at the same time along the same fibre pairs.

Deployed to a depth of 5,700 metres out at sea and, near the terminus locations within a thousand feet of shoreline the cable can be buried into the sea-bed up to five metres to avoid interference from ship anchors.

Said Mr. Parry, "It's really optimal use is for things like high definition TV, video imaging, Internet services, computer simulation, office automation and managed data networking.

"It is perfectly positioned to handle large bandwidth applications like full motion video and Internet, etc.'' "We have a cable that stretches from the UK to Japan, and meets up with the new Gemini cable, owned jointly by Cable & Wireless and Worldcomm, which connects the US West Coast to Porthcurno (England) in the UK, our same landing station. So there is seamless connectivity all the way from the US to anywhere in the world on FLAG.

"On the Japanese side, it matches up with the most modern cables going across the Pacific, such as TPC-5, which connects the US West Coast with our KDD landing in Japan.

"And the Northern Pacific cable, which also goes from the US Northern West Coast and meets up with FLAG in IDC's (C&W-owned) landing in Japan. So we have connectivity basically around the world.

"And along the Middle East route, it matches up with some new cables that will connect FLAG to all of the Persian Gulf countries, to all of the Eastern Mediterranean countries.

"It really brings high band width modern communications to 75 percent of the world's population, particularly through the Middle East and Southeast Asia from Asia, Europe and the US.

"The 25 percent of the world that FLAG doesn't reach with its own cables is the Western Hemisphere, where it reaches through its connectivity with the other cable systems.'' Apart from Front Street, Bermuda offices with 16 staff, Bell Atlantic Network Systems has offices in Hong Kong, Amsterdam and Amman, Jordan.

FLAG has about 20 people in its Richmond House administrative offices on Par La Ville Road, but also has premises in the United Arab Emirates, where the network operations centre is located, monitoring the entire system. They also have an office in Thailand.