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The 13 million dollar project is called the Strategic Evolution Underwater Link - and it is being done in partnership with Hauwei - and the contract was signed today. Chairman of the Executive Committee Anwar Barrow explained:...

Anwar Barrow, Chair, Executive Committee - BTL
"What we are doing today is we are announcing that we are signing a deal with Huawei for some 13 million Belize dollars to lay a fiber optic cable from Belize mainland to San Pedro Town. This we already started the preliminary work and survey work to lay the cable. We plan to start laying it the first quarter of 2017 and we should complete the cable by July. What the cable does is that the cable connects out terrestrial network to San Pedro and will allow us a company to deliver the type of data and speeds that customers in San Pedro want and need. So this project is important in terms of not only the commercial implications for BTL, the ability for the resorts and the customers on San Pedro to have a better experience, but also for the people visiting Belize and therefore it's important for the country. With better connectivity, there are better opportunities. It positions San Pedro even more in the space to grow."

Javier Guiterrez, Manager - Banyan Bay
"One of the biggest complaints that we find in the resorts presently in San Pedro is the fact that we don't have proper internet connection. People come on vacation and you would wonder, do they really want internet. But you know what, today that's what they really want and when it's not working well, they will complain. That's the number one complaint on the island right now."

Jules Vasquez
"When you read your resort reviews, is that among the number one complaints? People do have complaints. Is that among the number one complaints that the internet wasn't reliable or wasn't fast enough?"

Javier Guiterrez, Manager - Banyan Bay
"I can safely tell you yes. I manage Banyan Bay and yes that is the key or the number problem that we have. People will always put on those comments that the internet is poor and we are very happy and we look forward to increasing the speed of the internet."

Nicholas Scavone, Manager - Portofino
"Having this improve bandwidth means that BTL will be able to provide a more reliable and consistent level of service over the long haul. Hospitality and tourism is a very highly technology intensive industry. I get my reservations over the internet, we get our payments over the internet, we real-time have our inventory and our rooms done over the internet, the better bandwidth I have and the more reliable that bandwidth is, the better I am able to service my guests and get people into my property."

The cable will span 24 kilometers or 15 miles. Tomorrow we'll tell you about BTL's plan to launch a programme called fiber optic in homes.