LIME Jamaica’s parent, Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), on Monday announced it has begun building a submarine, fibre-optic cable that will more

than double its carrier capacity in the region.

The cable will link Jamaica and the Cayman Islands to the British Virgin Islands (Tortola) as well as the Dominican Republic to form the new “East-West Cable”.

CWC’s Caribbean business, LIME, which is installing the cable, is expected to have it operational by early 2011.

The East-West Cable is the third new submarine cable built by Cable & Wireless Communications in the region since 2008, according to CWC, and will add to the CBUS cable between Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands and the Gemini-Bermuda cable between Bermuda and the east coast of the US.

“The cable will enable Cable & Wireless Communications and its Caribbean business, LIME, to meet the rising demand for high-speed bandwidth from consumers and business customers in the region,” said a press statement issued on Monday by CWC. “The cable will also substantially strengthen Cable & Wireless Communications’ capability in serving its carrier customers in North and Latin America, as well as within the Caribbean. Cable & Wireless Communications’ cable system already links with 23 Caribbean countries and the East-West cable will complete a Caribbean ‘network ring’, improving resilience and access for carrier customers.”

CWC says it is positioning itself “as the leading wholesale capacity provider through the Caribbean Sea offering primary and secondary routes to New York and Miami”.

“Cable & Wireless Communications’ network is well positioned to benefit from growth in wholesale markets,” it added. “The Caribbean is a major traffic corridor between South America and the major internet, content and carrier hubs in the United States — acknowledged as one of the fastest growing intercontinental routes in the world today.”

CWC CEO Tony Rice said: “The East-West Cable will be a valuable addition to our carrier network, which is already the strongest in the Caribbean. It will enhance the capability and service Cable & Wireless Communications provides to our carrier customers throughout the Americas and the Caribbean. We can supply high capacity, resilient submarine infrastructure in one of the fastest growing cable routes in the world. It also improves our ability to provide customers, in the Caribbean islands, with increasingly innovative services, like mobile data applications and IPTV.”

LIME currently operates in 13 Caribbean countries, and is developing a range of new fixed broadband and mobile data services for customers, which will require high quality capacity support.