Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb cut the ribbon which officially opened the multi-million-dollar TeleBermuda International Centre.

Located in the former US Navy communications centre in the Southside community of St. David's, the high-tech, high-security room can accommodate up to 100 racks of equipment.

TBI senior vice president and general manager James Fitzgerald was confident the new centre would mean major new business for TBI and Bermuda.

"We designed this facility on the same standards that are being today sold in the US and around the world,'' he said.

Noting that a TBI team visited several e-commerce centres on the US East Coast, in Europe and Ireland, Mr. Fitzgerald pointed out that Bermuda held all of the key ingredients to ensure e-commerce is successful.

"You needed a secure facility, you needed state of the art, you needed power, you needed skilled technicians and you needed a willing economic and legislative assembly in order to make that happen,'' he said. "And we have that here in Bermuda.'' The new facility will be manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week but security will be tight and access will only be gained through a swipe card system and escort.

"This will be a highly secured service,'' Mr. Fitzgerald noted. "That is what the industry demands and that's what we will do.'' Mr. Fitzgerald explained how e-commerce business would be set up and how the facility fits into the picture.

"They'll arrange all their normal business transactions, they'll deal with a law firm, they'll deal with the Bermuda Monetary Authority and with the bank and get registered as a company,'' he noted.

"They will come to us and we will house their rack of equipment with servers with their content on it, and people from around the world will enter into an e-commerce transaction via the Internet or via a private line.

"E-commerce will mean a lot to TeleBermuda, to Bermuda and, we believe, to the ongoing evolution of business.'' Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb in welcoming the new move pointed out Government's commitment to attracting e-commerce to the Island.

"E-commerce will benefit all of Bermuda,'' she said, "not just the economy but of course Bermudians, which is very important not only from an entrepreneurial standpoint, but also ensuring our Bermudian people are up to scratch and that they understand what technology means and understand what e-commerce will mean to Bermuda. We want all our people to benefit from the advent of e-commerce to Bermuda.'' Noting the role of the Bermuda Land Development Company in the operation, Ms Webb noted the importance of finding suitable locales for e-commerce business.

BLDC CEO Carl Musson noted: "This new centre is the latest addition to TBI's already strong presence at Southside. We believe it will help focus worldwide attention on Southside and Bermuda as the emerging centre for the conduct of e-commerce.'' Data haven: Telecommunications and E-Commerce Minister Renee Webb cuts the ribbon which officially opens the multi-million-dollar TeleBermuda International e-commerce centre at Southside. At her right is TBI senior vice president and general manager James Fitzgerald.