23 December 2002 -- Farice HF, a consortium of Icelandic and Faroese operators and the government of Iceland for a proposed new international sub-sea cable, has awarded Scottish telecoms operator THUS plc the contract to provide the link from the landing point in Scotland to Edinburgh. Farice represents the first sub-sea cable landed in Scotland since 1962.
Farice initiated talks with telecoms operators to provide an alternative to the existing cable that reaches from Canada via Iceland and the Faroe Islands to continental Europe. Earlier this year that cable was severed and the Island nations were cut off from the outside world for nine hours.
It is intended that the high-capacity fibre-optic links provided by THUS will be the link in a chain to create an alternative multi-gigabit route for traffic between the USA and continental Europe with Scotland at the hub.
Farice chief executive Throstur Sigurdsson said, "THUS was able to give us the assurance that they can provide the capacity we require but, most importantly, THUS demonstrated a history of, and commitment to, the highest quality of service provision."
THUS chief executive Bill Allan added, "We are delighted to be working with Farice on what is an historic project for Scotland. Scotland has been losing ground in the provision of international telecommunications services over the past decade but this agreement helps to restore our country's position at the heart of north Atlantic telecommunications".