CZM Approves Fiber Optic Cable Project Between St. Croix and St. Thomas"

The TransAmerica Fiber initiative aims to enhance bandwidth across the Caribbean, with minimal environmental impact ensured through careful placement of undersea cabling.

  • Janeka Simon
  • January 23, 2025
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On Thursday, the Coastal Zone Management Committee for St. Thomas approved the running of a fiber optic cable between St. Croix and St. Thomas.

The cable is part of a larger project by TransAmerica Fiber to bring additional bandwidth to the Caribbean. The main trunk will run from Vero Beach in Florida to Butler Base on St. Croix, with additional branches leading to Puerto Rico, Tortola, and St. John among others. 

Similar to when the project was first presented last October, representatives underscored how minimally the new cabling would affect the undersea environment in which it would lay. Care in placing the cable would be paramount to ensure that marine life is not disturbed, said Benjamin Carlos of Tyson Tech, the local project management firm. Subsequent to its placement, it is expected that the cable's weight combined with the movement of the water at the ocean floor would serve to bury the line in the sand, rendering it even less likely to be disturbed. 

“With careful placement, with diver support, these corals can be avoided,” Mr. Carlos said, referring to some species of interest and/or concerned that can be found in the proposed area for the cable. “There is no anticipated effect with careful placement,” he reiterated. 

Ultimately, committee members unanimously approved the major coastal zone permit application for the TransCaribbean Fiber project.

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