Hi-tech cable to link US with Ireland

Updated: 12:54, Tuesday, 6 January 2009

Tens of millions of euro are to be invested in providing cheaper and faster broadband connections between Ireland and the US.

1 of 1 Transatlantic Cable A link off an existing cable will provide a new direct high-speed data access to North America
Transatlantic Cable
A link off an existing cable will provide a new direct high-speed data access to North America

Tens of millions of euro are to be invested in providing cheaper and faster broadband connections between Ireland and the US.

Project Kelvin will be the first direct telecommunications link between North America and the north of Ireland.

The project is a cross-border venture which involves the laying of an undersea cable that will come ashore near Portrush, Co Antrim.

The €30m submarine cable is to be completed by March of next year by Hibernia Atlantic.

The cable will ensure direct international connectivity to the US for towns in Northern Ireland and locations including Letterkenny, Dundalk and Monaghan in the Republic.

The venture is being co-financed under the EU's Interreg scheme in a partnership involving government departments in Dublin and Belfast.

For more on how transatlantic cables are installed, check out Hibernia Atlantic's YouTube page

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