$300m Transatlantic Cable To Link NYC, Ireland And Iceland

A new $300m transatlantic telecoms cable will be laid to connect data centers in Ireland and Iceland with major financial capitals like New York.

The project, which will see the fiber optic cable coming ashore in Belmullet, Co. Mayo in 2013, will create hundreds of jobs during its construction phase.

But it is the huge potential the connection offers after it is in place that has attracted the interest of Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Demand for remote data centers is increasing thanks to the trend for cloud-computing where information is stored and processed remotely.

Ireland's temperate climate suits the centers, which require huge amounts of power to run, and also to prevent them from overheating.

Iceland enters the equation because, like Ireland, it is also a preferred location in terms of geography and cooling.

With the speed and capacity of computing doubling every 18 months, the demand for transatlantic data capacity is expected to increase nine fold between 2010 and 2017.

The subsea network is being built by US start-up Emerald Networks, which is hoping to raise $300m to finance the project.

Marine surveys are scheduled to begin next year.

"Our plan is to start manufacturing and building the cable early in the New Year and load the boats around May and June," said CEO Ray Sembler.

"The boats will set off from both sides of the Atlantic and meet in the middle. We intend to put the minimum number of splices possible on the cable but we will have amplifiers every 80 kilometers.

"Our plan is to connect the data centers in Iceland and the data centers in Ireland with the data centers of Europe."

Google is building a data center in Dublin and Microsoft has already one data center operational.

Cloud computing has been targeted by the Irish government as one are of huge growth potential for Ireland.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said this initiative was part of the "big picture" of where the country wanted to be.

"This project is not delivered yet, but it has enormous potential for itself and the country as a whole," he said.

"By 2016 we want to prove that we're the best country in the world to do business."

The cable, to be named the Emerald Express, originates in New York, runs for 5,200km and terminates at Belmullet on Ireland's west coast in the Taoiseach's own county.

A branching unit will run to Grindavik in Iceland, and there plans for a future branch to continental Euroe.

"The route triangulates the Atlantic and capitalizes on the proximity to New York, Iceland's competitive location and hydro and geothermal renewable resources, and Ireland's strategic location, accessible government and attractive tax laws.

"This system will ensure that the key financial markets of London and New York have never been better served," said Ray Sembler.