GCN SUBSIDIARIES AND THE LORET GROUP

GLOBAL CARIBBEAN NETWORK (GCN)

 

On November 29, 2004, the Regional Council of Guadeloupe awarded to Global Caribbean Network (GCN) a BOT contract to build and operate a fibre optic submarine cable system, linking Guadeloupe, St Martin and St Barthelemy to the Internet backbone in Puerto Rico.
This 20 year concession is worth 21,9 million euros, with 75% funding from the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and the Guadeloupe Regional Council, and 25% from GCN's main shareholder, the LORET Group. For resilience and security reasons a Branching Unit between Puerto Rico and St-Martin connects St-Croix (U.S. Virgin Islands), a major Internet hub in the Caribbean region, to GCN cable system.

 

MIDDLE CARIBBEAN NETWORK (MCN)

 

MCN is the result of the "ACP Numérique" conference, held in Guadeloupe on May 31st 2005, at which OECS countries decided to extend GCN to Martinique and Dominica.
The MCN system is a project supported by the LORET Group, the Regional Council of Martinique and the European Commission program INTERREG III B. MCN received 3.2 million Euros in public funds. At the time of this project ECFS was the only submarine capacity to Dominica.

SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN FIBER (SCF)

 

SCF extends the networks of GCN and MCN. SCF is a subsidiary of the Loret Group and the project is supported by the Regional Councils of Martinique, French Guyana and Guadeloupe, OECS countries and the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunication Authority (ECTEL). At this time of the project ECFS was the only submarine capacity to St-Kitts, St-Lucia, St-Vincent, Grenada and Antigua.

GLOBAL CARIBBEAN FIBER (GCF)

GCF is the company grouping together GCN, MCN, SCF and Antilles Crossing. The group LORET holds 60% of GCF and LEUCADIA the other 40%. This alliance strengths in a very significant way the activities of submarine cable in the Caribbean Region and so consolidates  the viability  and the quality of the services proposed by GCN.

 

ANTILLES CROSSING

 

The Loret Group and Leucadia (a US business group -NYSE : LUK) created a joint venture (60%/40%) integrating ACL (Antilles Crossing), a repeated system connecting St-Lucia and Barbados to St-Croix and to this new Caribbean wide system. Leucadia activities include : Manufacturing, Healthcare services, Telecommunication, Real State, Winery, and lending activities. Leucadia National was founded in 1854 and is headquartered in New York City. 

 

THE LORET GROUP



The Loret Group is a family-owned group and the main shareholder of GCF (60%). It is a substantial economic player in the French West Indies, with 600 Million Euros of revenue for 2006. Loret Group operates in diversified sectors in Metropolitan Frances and the French Overseas Territories. Businesses include : Car import and distribution, Car Rental, Real Estate, Environmental Management, Communications, Information Technology / Telecommunications, Air transport. Example of businesses : Peugeot, Hertz, Air Caraïbes, Mediaserv, GCN.