Catalina Island Subsea Cable Project Enters Survey Phase
AVX Networks Advances Catalina Island High-Speed Internet Project Into Marine Survey Phase
AVX Networks Press Release
April 27, 2026
AVALON, Calif. — AVX Networks has advanced the Catalina Island high-speed internet project into its marine survey phase, marking an early but critical milestone in the effort to bring reliable broadband access to Catalina Island.
The project, funded by a $37.5 million grant from the California Public Utilities Commission’s Last Mile Federal Funding Account, is designed to connect Catalina Island to the mainland through a submarine fiber-optic cable system between Avalon and Huntington Beach. Once completed, the project is expected to serve more than 1,185 currently unserved locations and support reliable high-speed internet access for approximately 3,500 island residents.
The marine survey is a structured geophysical investigation used to measure and map underwater and nearshore environments. Conducted aboard the survey vessel Bold Explorer, the 10-day survey campaign will help project teams evaluate seafloor conditions, identify an optimal cable route and support future engineering, environmental review, permitting and installation planning.
As part of the survey, the project team is collecting bathymetric data, side-scan sonar imagery, sub-bottom profiler data, magnetometer readings and sediment samples across the roughly 25 nautical miles of water between Catalina Island and Huntington Beach. Together, these data sets will help identify a cable route that avoids sensitive habitat to the maximum extent practicable, supports the regulatory target of burying the cable at least one meter below the seafloor and routes around existing infrastructure or previously unidentified cultural resources, such as historic shipwrecks.
“Catalina has waited too long for the connectivity mainland California takes for granted, and delivering it the right way means respecting the marine environment we’re working in,” said Lance Ware, co-founder and CEO of AVX Networks. “The data Bold Explorer collects over these 10 days lets us route around sensitive habitat, avoid existing infrastructure and protect any historic resources on the seafloor — so the families, businesses, schools and hospital that depend on this island get a cable system that is both reliable today and built to last.”
The Bold Explorer, a specialized offshore survey vessel measuring approximately 68 meters in length and 13 meters in beam, transited from Panama and provisioned in San Diego before beginning the survey campaign. The marine survey phase began approximately three months ahead of the project’s initial schedule, reflecting proactive planning, early coordination among project partners and AVX Networks’ continued momentum on a critical infrastructure project for Catalina Island.
Once completed, the project is expected to strengthen the island’s digital infrastructure and expand reliable high-speed internet access supporting health care, education, emergency communications, local businesses, residents and visitors.
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