In a deal valued at approximately $10 million, Vancouver-based Worldwide Fiber Inc. announced it will build a new switching facility in Lynn that will complete the Canadian company's trans-Atlantic fiber-optic cable. The Lynn site will be part of a global, high-speed, high-capacity network that is being run by Worldwide Fiber's U.S. division, Worldwide Telecom (USA) Inc. (WTI).

About 15 people will work at the Worldwide Telecom facility by the time the so-called "Hibernia System" is scheduled to be completed in March 2001.

The Lynn facility will be near Lynn Harbor, with the final location to be approved by the city and appropriate governmental agencies. Worldwide Telecom has put forth an offer to buy 16,000 square feet of property on Commercial Street in Lynn to serve as the site of the switching facility.

The project is expected to have a major impact on international Internet and telecommunications access originating in New England, ecause it will be the first fiber-optic network that will originate in the Boston area. It will be the first time that fiber-optic transmissions will not have to be routed through switches in New York or other cities south of Boston.

Lynn is home to a budding high technology community, which includes ShoreNet, an Internet service provider with 27,000 accounts in Massachusetts. The city has actively courted high-tech companies by promoting a "cyber district" in the city's downtown near its extensive fiber-optic cables already in place. "This is a fabulous project for both the city of Lynn and the New England region as a whole," said Lynn Mayor Patrick McManus in a statement. "This new transcontinental connection will further enhance our attractiveness to companies requiring secure, high-speed data transmission capabilities."

Lynn is also hoping the new facility will attract more companies to the city and area.

When completed, the trans-Atlantic system will run from Lynn to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and then connect to Dublin, Ireland, and Southport, England. Worldwide Telecom officials said the transcontinental section of the project will cost $630 million and the entire network, which will includes switches in cities across the United States and Canada, is valued at about $1 billion.

Chris Brassine, cable station project manager for WTI, said Lynn was a "prime candidate" to host the switching facility because of the city's marine topography and proximity to the high-tech companies around Boston.

"We wanted to get as close to Boston as possible," Brassine said. "This is the first cable to not go through New York and its capacity needs to be large."