(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaica achieved another milestone in its telecommunications industry with the landing in St Ann on Monday of a 240-km undersea fibre-optic cable between the island and Cuba.
The occasion, which took place at Golden Sands in Ocho Rios, was part of a joint agreement between Jamaica, Cuba and Venezuela, with Lime serving as landing partner on the Cuba-Jamaica leg of a plan to link Cuba and Venezuela.
The first leg of the connection, a 1500 km cable from Venezuela to Cuba, was concluded last week.
Because of an embargo, it marks the first time in decades that an international telecoms cable was being connected to Cuba.
Installation of the cable should be completed by June this year. The cable will provide direct connectivity between Venezuela, Cuba and Jamaica for voice and data traffic. Under the agreement signed late last year between LIME and its parent company, Cable and Wireless, and Telecommunicaciones Gran Caribe – which is a joint venture between Cuba (Transbit SA) and Venezuela (Telecom Venezuela) – Lime will carry voice and data traffic from Cuba to Europe, an arrangement which means significant income for Jamaica.
The ultra-high bandwidth infrastructure will provide data download at a speed of 3,000 times faster than the satellite technology which Cuba currently uses, said a release from LIME. The upgraded facilities are also expected to result in lower cost for international calls into and out of Cuba.
Apart from developing communications in the Caribbean, the project is expected to boost other sectors, including business, tourism, education and finance.
Senator Marlene Malahoo Forte, who represented Prime Minister Bruce Golding, said the project means increased job opportunities and will facilitate the sharing of information, but cautioned about the approach to the future.