South Coast Offices Hook Up to Fiber Optics

Tenants at the Offices of South Coast Plaza are beginning to use an advanced fiber-optic system that rapidly speeds up data transmission.

Workers completed the system in November, and businesses at the office park on Town Center Drive and surrounding South Coast Metro are plugging in through five competing phone companies, administrators said.

The lines can be accessed throughout the 2,200-acre South Coast Metro District. The $14-million project was paid for by phone companies, including Pacific Bell and MCI, said Stan Taeger, director of property management.

More than 30 companies, including IBM and Mercedes-Benz of North America Inc., are online.

Using a pulse of light that travels along wires thinner than a human hair, fiber optics transmit telephone calls and data at the speed of light rather than the speed of sound of traditional wiring.

The advancement allows video conferencing in real time and data-heavy documents, such as television shows, to be transmitted in seconds.

Fiber-optic lines are more durable and better-equipped to handle disasters than traditional copper wiring and were essential in reestablishing phone service after the Northridge earthquake.