Apollo Network Boost to E-Commerce in the Channel Islands

Cable and Wireless announced today a significant upgrade to the Fibre Optic network providing service to the Bailiwick of Guernsey (includes Guernsey, Alderney and a number of smaller Islands).

Lord Robertson, Executive Deputy Chairman of Cable and Wireless on a flying visit to Guernsey announced that a decision had been made to create a new route for the Apollo trans-Atlantic cable via Guernsey; the effect of this would be to enhance the resilience of the Apollo cable by creating a direct bridge between the two cables which make up the Apollo network.

Apollo which was completed in 2003 comprises two fibre optic cables one of which runs between Bude in the UK to Long Island, New York and a completely separate cable from Lannion in Brittany France to Manasquan, New Jersey. Both legs of the network are capable of carrying up to 3.2 Terabits of traffic each but are in practise used together to provide SDH (Sonnet in the US) services.

The new network will require cable to be laid between the UK and the French termination points via Guernsey.

Local E-Commerce and E-Gambling consultant Robin Le Prevost said. 'This represents a fantastic opportunity for Guernsey and Alderney to develop their E-Commerce businesses and the ramifications for the Islands are only now becoming clear. On a simplistic level it increases our telecoms capacity significantly, the Apollo Cables are capable of carrying traffic measured in Terabits and add to our already huge capacity and they also increase our resilience by adding two further fibre optic routes off Island from the current 5. But that's not all - they will offer direct connectivity to the US which will be of enormous interest to Companies whose customerbase is Stateside but who also require fast connectivity to Europe.'

Robin added 'I am particularly struck on the possibilities this offers to E-Gambling Companies such as the Poker operators for whom 60 to 70% of their players remain in the US and fast internet connectivity is a pre-requisite, this gives us capabilities way above our fellow European jurisdictions and when added to our fiscal advantages and the quality and respect the Alderney regulatory body has - this is stunningly good news'.

'There are other possible benefits too' continued Le Prevost 'depending on how this is structured at the product level this has the potential to give us new services and greater flexibility available through the numerous Data Centres in the Islands. Additionally all offshore jurisdictions suffer from high connectivity costs and this could just provide a breakthrough for the Channel Islands. The ramifications for the Islands to act as a bridgehead facing both Europe and the US for e-commerce are only now being considered by our Tax experts but it does look very encouraging.'

About - LePrevostConsultancy

LePrevostConsultancy was established in 2005 by Robin Le Prevost to promote E-Commerce and E-Gambling primarily from the UK affiliated Channel Islands.

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission is accepted as the leading Jurisdiction for E-Gambling and offers a well regulated and clear framework for operators wishing to establish and protect their Company offshore but with access to all world markets for both Gambling and Gaming.