voice bandwidth is starting to ring true. Deutsche Telekom has signed a second agreement with Global Crossing that will double its capacity on the company's trans-Atlantic cable.

The new contract is worth $60 million in business for Global Crossing. Prior to the announcement of the deal Global Crossing chief executive officer Jack Scanlon had said the company was accelerating an upgrade to the trans-Atlantic fibre optic cable because of increased demand from customers.

"Deutsche Telecom's increased commitment is but one example of the demand for bandwidth across the Atlantic being driven by the European growth of the Internet, multinational Intranets and E-commerce,'' Mr. Scanlon stated in a press release yesterday.

The Atlantic cable is the first step in the development of a network which will connect about 50 of the world's largest cities ranked by telecommunications traffic.

The cable went into service in May, linking the US with the UK. Connections with Germany is planned in November and to the Netherlands by February next year. The company has signed contracts and arranged financing to extend its network to the Americas and Asia.

AIRLINE FLY