Project Kelvin Heralds International Link

Northern Ireland's direct telecommunications link to North America has been completed, recalling Lord Kelvin - a world-beating Belfast-born scientist whose work revolutionised Victorian era communications.

Today's Project Kelvin involved connecting a submarine cable to the Hibernia North Transatlantic cable located 22 miles off the north coast of Ireland.

Initially, the cable was brought ashore in June 2009 and work continued on the building and testing of the terrestrial infrastructure through to late summer 2010.

Stormont Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has now announced that the hugely innovative link has been completed.

Named after Lord Kelvin, whose Kelvin (Absolute) Temperature Scale is at the heart of all scientific calculations involving pressure, volume and temperature, is commemorated already in his home city of Belfast, where a stature stands in Botanic Gardens to the great man.

William Thomson, the 1st Baron Kelvin had a career as an electric telegraph engineer and inventor, which ensured his wealth, fame and honour.

Appropriately, his work on the first ever-transatlantic telegraph project saw him knighted by Queen Victoria, becoming Sir William Thomson before he died in 1907.

Now the great man lives again in this 21st Century project that has been co-financed under the EU's INTERREG IVA programme 2007-2013 and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI).

In conjunction with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (DCENR) in the Republic of Ireland, the €30m contract was awarded to Hibernia Atlantic in December 2008.

NI Minister Arlene Foster said: "The completion of the Project Kelvin network means Northern Ireland has a fast, low cost and resilient telecommunications link to North America, with improved connectivity in Europe.

"Northern Ireland businesses now have access to the same international telecoms services found in major cities like Amsterdam and New York.

"In the current economic climate, we must give every possible advantage to Northern Ireland companies to enable them to compete in the global export market. This international telecommunication capacity provides increased opportunities to sell goods and services overseas," she said.

"We have invested, not only in Project Kelvin, but in other significant areas such as the Next Generation Broadband Project and the Northern Ireland Broadband Fund, to create a world-class telecommunications infrastructure.

"I would encourage Northern Ireland companies to exploit the business opportunities offered by our core telecoms infrastructure for the benefit of the local economy."

The new international link can be accessed from across Northern Ireland and completes a dream for one of Belfast's iconic scientists who also had a long connection with Scotland where he first went to university.

Lord Kelvin was commemorated on the £20 note issued by the Clydesdale Bank in 1971 and his image appears on the bank's current £100 note.

Appropriately he is shown holding another of his inventions, the adjustable compass and in the background is a map of the original Victorian era transatlantic cable.

(BMcC/GK)