LIME hosts global maintenance forum on GC

(CNS): Technicians from all over the world that help keep the international lines of communication open will be visiting Grand Cayman next week for a specialist conference. Fifty members of the Atlantic Cable Maintenance Repair Agreement (ACMA) representing over 36 companies from all corners of the Atlantic Region are coming to discuss the crucial work that this not for profit organization does and to ensure it can keep doing. Local telecommunications firm LIME which is a member of the ACMA is playing host at the Marriot from Monday for the four day conference.

Donnie Forbes, Head of Service Support and Delivery, is LIME’s representative and the organizing host for the event. “For 45 years LIME has been keeping the people of the Cayman Islands connected to the rest of the world.  Technology has allowed our two core pillars of industry, tourism and finance to grow and develop into the world class businesses that we know today.  LIME is delighted to welcome all the ACMA delegates not only to discuss business, but also to give us the opportunity to showcase our beautiful Islands,” he said.

ACMA is a cooperative agreement among more than seventy companies on four continents. It is run by its member companies for the benefit of the cable owners. Its goal is to provide the highest quality repair and maintenance service availableanywhere at the lowest possible price.

Specially-designed cable ships, each with its own dedicated ROV, with experienced crews and the most modern equipment, are available at strategically located base ports throughout the Atlantic Ocean to undertake repairs, wherever and whenever needed. Because of its asset- and cost-sharing methodology, it offers unparalleled service at a fraction of what it would cost to provide to individual systems. And because of its not-for-profit nature, 100% of all savings is shared among the member companies.

The Cayman Islands relies almost totally on submarine cables to keep it connected to the rest of the world.  LIME officials said that the firm continues to invest in submarine cables and just this year a new major submarine cable was brought on line.  The “East-West” cablelinks Jamaica and the Cayman Islands in the west of the Caribbean to the British Virgin Islands in the east and lands in the Dominican Republic, one of the key markets in the Caribbean region.

“For businesses and residents alike there’s nothing amusing about an undersea cable break,” LIME said. “After an earthquake of Central America several cables in the Gulf of Mexico were damaged which affected some of our voice and internet traffic.  With downtime and restoration costs running as much as $10 million a day on some systems, faults have to be located and repaired swiftly.  This requires experience, expertise and state of the art vehicles – all of which are standard with ACMA.”