Published Monday, 22 June 2009
It has been brought to land at Portrush by US company Hibernia Atlantic, the transatlantic submarine cable provider, and will also provide improved connection with Europe.
The cable deployment was part of Project Kelvin, the £25m joint scheme by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Belfast and its Dublin counterpart, the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources - part financed by the EU.
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: "This is a historic milestone for both Northern Ireland and for Project Kelvin. The new cable will connect Northern Ireland, for the first time, directly to North America and greatly improve connectivity with Europe.
"When combined with the new terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure, currently under construction across Northern Ireland, it will put us at the heart of the global economy."
She encouraged local companies to take advantage of the benefits and opportunities the new international telecoms cable will bring.
"Northern Ireland companies will have access to the same international telecommunications services as found in major cities including London, Amsterdam and New York. We are now firmly on the world telecoms map and I urge Northern Ireland companies to exploit the opportunities this will bring," said Mrs Foster.
Eamon Ryan, Minister for Communications in Dublin said with communications developing apace it was important to be part of the development.
"Today, Ireland links into a new international communications network. This will facilitate fast, low-cost and state of the art communications which will allow us to connect and compete internationally."
Fergus Innes of Hibernia Atlantic said the running ashore of the cable in Portrush was an exciting benchmark and a further indicator the company team and government were working diligently to deliver real benefits for local and international companies seeking bandwidth and security.
Hibernia are committed to completing the entire project including onshore infrastructure by next March and operating it until the end of 2018.