Undersea cable installation continues in Hermosa Beach

A ship off shore assists with the installation of undersea fiber optic cables coming ashore under Hermosa Beach. Photo

A ship off shore assists with the installation of undersea fiber optic cables coming ashore under Hermosa Beach. Photo

Multiple ships anchored off the shores of Hermosa Beach Friday, helping link undersea cable fiber optic cable that comes ashore under city sand and are expected to bring Hermosa hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in revenue.

The ships mark the next phase of work that temporarily tore up portions of Longfellow Avenue and 25th Street last year. The Transpacific Submarine Fiber Optic Cable Systems connect the United States with countries on the other side of the Pacific Rim via undersea cables that run along the sea shore.

Once the cables get within about 2500 feet of the mean high-tide lean, they are buried beneath the sand, and produce no visible structures on the beach, officials with RAM Telecom International, the company behind the project, said during the environmental review process for the cables. An existing cable connection completed several years ago, at Second Street in South Hermosa,  is not visible from the beach or water.

The company returned to Hermosa for a second set of cables for several reasons. It is close to Los Angeles and the many businesses located there seeking enhanced connection speeds. And the fact that the city owns its beach, unlike other cities the sand belongs to the county, makes for a smoother regulatory process.

In return for approving the cable project, the city is set to receive annual payments to the tune of at least $300,000 per year for several years.

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