A pool of 22 telecommunications companies plan to invest US$27 million to lay the first optic fiber cable between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The cable, to be called Antillas I, will improve the telecommunication services between both countries. The amount of traffic between the islands makes for a profitable business and investors hope to recover their investment over a less than normal time period. The cable should be in place by 1997. Telefonica Larga Distancia (TLD) of Puerto Rico and the Compañía Dominicana de Teléfonos are among the principal companies that will be paying for the project, according to sources quoted by EFE. This will be the first direct connection between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. There are many submarine cables in the Caribbean, the principal being the one that starts in Florida and connects the Dominican Republic with South America.