The $10 billion fibre optic network planned by Bermuda-based global communications company Project Oxygen Ltd. has won vital US licensing.

The United States Federal Communications Commission this week approved Project Oxygen's licence to land and operate a private fibre optic submarine cable system extending between the US and international points.

The licence clears the way for the establishment and operation of 10 Project Oxygen cable landing stations in the US and territories including four outside continental US.

Project Oxygen Network is a planned global undersea optical fibre cable network with a first phase comprising approximately 168,000 kilometres of optical fibre cable linking 78 points around the globe.

Cable installation is scheduled to begin this year with the major trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific links operation in 2000 and 2001 respectively.

The entire first phase should be complete in early 2003.

Once complete the network will allow the company to dramatically lower global telecommunications costs by its use of Internet type pricing.

Yesterday Bermuda-based Project Oxygen Ltd. chairman and CEO Neil Tagare said the FCC approval was "yet another concrete step toward making Project Oxygen Network a reality''.

"Along with our simultaneous activities in financing, capacity sales, landing station planning, system engineering and contract negotiations it will enable us to implement Oxygen Network on a timely basis.'' The spokesman for the project's corporate manager, CTR Group Ltd., Pierre Phaneuf, said each technical step meant consumers were closer to having the choice of cheaper communications.

Project Oxygen wins licensing "Oxygen Network will play a key part in implementing the FCC's pro-competitive international telecommunications policies, which are intended to expand consumer choices and drive down the costs of global communications.

In many ways, Oxygen Network is the direct result of these FCC policies, and will now serve as the engine for dynamic change in the international telecommunications market.'' The ten US landing points are included in the first phase of the Oxygen Network. Six of the planned US landing stations will be located in the continental US, in coastal areas of Oregon, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Florida. The other four US landing stations will be located in Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Midway Islands.

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