Bermuda has opened
its first e-commerce centre. The multi-million-dollar TeleBermuda
International (TBI) Centre was officially opened by Bermuda Telecommunications
Minister Renee Webb last week, and is expected to provide a significant
boost to Bermuda's quest to become a major offshore e-commerce
player.
The TBI e-commerce centre
will provide secure website hosting services for companies wanting
to conduct e-commerce from Bermuda. The TBI centre will be manned
24 hours a day, seven days a week and features state of the art
security based on global industry standards.
TBI general manager James Fitzgerald
said the Centre would attract 'major new business' for Bermuda.
"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 - and we have that here in Bermuda," Mr Fitzgerald said.
At the Centre opening, Telecommunications
Minister Renee Webb expressed her Government's support for
the Centre and re-stated their commitment to bringing e-commerce
business to Bermuda. "E-commerce will benefit all of Bermuda,"
Ms Webb 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."