Facility is now an 'exchange centre'

The telecommunications facility currently based at the Ilex Fort George site isn’t technically a “Telehouse” after all.

Although ‘telehouse’ was the word specified in the original government tender for the project - the interpretation of which led to a massive row and threats of court action - the Enterprise Minister, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETINI), Hibernia Atlantic and sections of the Press have now been warned against describing the facility as such under European Union trademark law.

When it emerged last year that Londonderry was to have a Point of Presence rather than a “telehouse” which was to be built in Coleraine there was widespread anger in the city and comparisons were made with the decision to site the New University of Ulster in Coleraine in the late 1960s. But now it appears neither place has a ‘telehouse’.

A DETI spokesperson confirmed to the Sentinel: "DETI was made aware on 22 June 2010 that there was an existing EC Trade Mark on the word 'telehouse'.

"A third party brought the matter to the attention of the Department and Hibernia Atlantic (HA). The third party had received correspondence from Beck Greener, London based trade mark attorneys, whose client owned the EC Trade Mark 'Telehouse.'

“Beck Greener asked that the third party cease using the word telehouse, as it may constitute an infringement of the EC Trade Mark.

"Beck Greener subsequently wrote in a similar vein to the DETI Minister at her Constituency Office.

"When first brought to DETI's attention the Department discussed the matter with Hibernia Atlantic, who decided upon the alternative name for the Londonderry facility as the 'exchange centre'."

The legal firm wrote at the request of their client Telehouse International Corporation of Europe Limited which established the “Telehouse” trade mark back in 1987.

A major row erupted in the North West in early 2009 when Coleraine was chosen as the location for the Project Kelvin “Telehouse” over Londonderry which had been the specified location in the tender documents.

The concerted campaign to bring it back to Londonderry resulted in an about-turn for “commercial expediency”. This was in spite of Hibernia Atlantic Vice President of Network Operations Derek Bullock’s insistence to the Stormont Enterprise Committee last year that all towns and cities with a point of presence would benefit equally from Project Kelvin.

He commented then: "I do not fully understand the controversy…As I said, we operate globally, and the points of presence are the points that matter, as that is where one connects into the system.

"What is important is the equipment that is in there, the services that can be offered, and how well it can be marketed and promoted within the regions. Every single town that we are connecting to has exactly the same transmission equipment.”

Pressed on the benefits of having the facility based in Londonderry, he insisted: “There are no particular benefits. Where the cable comes onshore will be the shortest exit point, which will have the shortest latency to its end cable. The reason the Portrush region was chosen is that it is the easiest place to bring the cable ashore; it is the least environmentally sensitive...There is a physical limitation, because the signal must be regenerated and amplified where the cable is brought onshore. That must be done in the Coleraine area, because that is the first place that the signal gets broken out from the sea.”

Coleraine Borough Council certainly agrees with this assessment.

Indeed it believes Coleraine is advantaged as it has a faster connection with North America than anywhere else in Europe.

On the Coleraine Borough Council site it states: “Today Project Kelvin provides Coleraine with direct communications to major North American cities and has become an optimal Atlantic telecommunications hub for North American and European high capacity telecommunications.

“It’s also the fastest connection and Coleraine can now justifiably claim the telecommunications ‘Blue-Riband’ prize for making the fastest Atlantic crossing between the North American and European continents.

“Kelvin now remarkably connects Coleraine to the very heart of the Financial District in Manhattan and back again, in just over 66 thousandths of a second.

“Just as impressive is the capacity of data (up to 40gigabits per second) that can flow in and out of Coleraine from any point on the Hibernia Atlantic Network; more importantly these unrivalled communication services are provided at a lower magnitude of cost than conventional tariffs.”