Beginning in 2009, the Project Kelvin build included both an undersea cable linking Hibernia Atlantic's northernmost transatlantic route directly to Ireland as well as a terrestrial cable linking 13 Irish towns. In June, the company announced the landing of the underwater cable at Portrush, which links the island of Ireland with North America and Europe. Currently, the company is building the terrestrial route, and, as of November, is simultaneously linking Letterkenny, Drogheda, Castleblaney, and Monaghan. When completed, there will be an extra route out of Dublin and an additional cable coming into and out of Ireland for high capacity and backup support.
Once the build is completed in March 2010, businesses operating into and within Ireland will be able to access direct, low-latency connectivity to Canada, the United States, and mainland Europe at competitive pricing. Already financial exchanges, content delivery networks, and global media organizations are considering Ireland for network deployments, says Hibernia Atlantic, to ensure enhanced network capacity at affordable rates.
"According to recent figures, American companies have already invested 100 million euros in the island of Ireland this year alone," states Fergus Innes, vice president of sales, EMEA. "We are confident that on completion of Project Kelvin, the quality and capacity of available bandwidth will act as a further inducement for financials, broadcasters, Internet service providers (ISPs), and other large bandwidth-consuming companies who need a diverse physical connection across the Atlantic for their secure communications networks to either continue to invest in Ireland or create a new presence on the Island."
Project Kelvin is a joint initiative between the Republic of Ireland's Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (DCENR) and Northern Ireland's Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) and is co-funded through the EU INTERREG IVA programme. This cable will connect with Hibernia Atlantic's terrestrial fiber-optic ring currently being deployed to 13 towns and cities, including Armagh, Ballymena, Belfast, Coleraine, Londonderry/Derry, Omagh, Portadown, Strabane, Letterkenny, Castleblayney, Dundalk, Drogheda, and Monaghan. The project's overall objective is to further attract business to Ireland, provide the country with resiliency and offer further economic stimulus.
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