Joseph Cunningham, Gleaner Writer

Local business leaders are being invited to establish online data back-up through the safe waters of 'hurricane-free' Panama.

Samuel Chambers, adminis-trator of the International Data Centre at Cable and Wireless Panama (CWP), informed business executives that, "Panama is not seriously affected by hurricanes. There-fore, that makes our data storage centre one of the safest this side of the world."

Safety first

He was speaking at the local launch of the telecommuni-cations conference 'Solcom 2006' on Tuesday, at the Hilton Kingston hotel. The conference is scheduled to be held in Panama City from October 26 to 27.

He said the switch would be relatively easy through 'stable mate' Cable and Wireless Jamaica (CWJ). "Safety takes precedence," he added.

"Panama currently has five 'undersea' communication connections and we have all the necessary bandwidth require-ments. The Panama Canal has been in existence for over 100 years, without a need for any major repairs." An added incentive, he said, is the anticipated expansion to the Panama Canal over the next seven years.

When contacted by The Gleaner, Evan Thompson, head of Jamaica's Weather Branch, supported Mr. Chambers claim, explaining that, "Panama is too close to the equator to be seriously affected by hurricanes."

He explained that Panama is located between six to nine degrees north of the equator, and that hurricanes cannot be formed less than five degrees north of the equator.

The principal objective of the conference will be to present business communities in the Caribbean and the Americas with the latest in existing and emerging technologies, said Mr. Chambers.