The finance industry organisation revealed that Cable & Wireless is in the final stages of Project HUGO - High capacity, Undersea, Guernsey Optical-fibre network - a GBP6.5m. cable and technology investment that will place Guernsey directly on the global telecommunications network and provide resilient, unlimited capacity.

The project involves installing two new high capacity fibre optic cables. The first, between Guernsey and Cornwall, England, went into live service this month, and the second, running from the Island to Lannion, France, is due for completion soon.

The cables will link Guernsey directly and resiliently to C&W’s global telecommunications network. Data and voice traffic will be able to travel to or from the Island via either connection and therefore service will not be disrupted even if one section were to be damaged.

GuernseyFinance observed that:

"For the first time businesses in Guernsey will benefit from connectivity on a par with major international business centres around the world such as London, New York, Sydney, Tokyo and Paris."

“This is great news for Guernsey’s finance industry practitioners and their clients because HUGO will ultimately make doing business in Guernsey quicker and easier,” observed Peter Niven, GuernseyFinance Chief Executive.

Mr Niven continued:

“Guernsey’s business-friendly infrastructure has already contributed to the Island becoming a world-class international finance centre. For example, Guernsey’s government has, through listening to the needs of industry, put all the necessary ingredients together to help foster a successful broad-based finance sector with first class support services."

“The fact that all of these businesses are located so close to each other means that a high volume and wide range of business can be carried out in a short space of time, making Guernsey an ideal ‘one-stop shop’. This point is emphasised by the fact that there are good air and sea links to the UK, with the Island just a 35-minute plane journey away from London. There is also an array of excellent restaurants and hotels, which are highly valued by the business community.”