Hawai‘i To Receive More Than $18 Million For High-Speed Rural Broadband
New Funding Will Provide High-Speed Internet Service To Nearly 4,000 Homes and Businesses Across the State
WASHINGTON – Today the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that Hawaiian Telcom will receive $18.1 million over 10 years to expand high-speed broadband access to 3,936 underserved locations across the most rural areas of Hawai‘i.
“Broadband access opens doors,” said Senator Schatz, lead Democrat on the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet. “This investment will help people in Hawai‘i’s most rural areas access health care, do their homework, make a living, and more.”
Areas Hawaiian Telcom plans to expand broadband service to include:
- Hawaiian Acres, Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, Kohala, Laupahoehoe, Orchidland, and Pepeekeo on Hawai‘i Island;
- Haiku, Hana, and Olowalu on Maui;
- Kaunakakai and Ualapue on Molokai;
- Hanapepe, Kilauea, Kokee, Kekaha, and Waimea on Kauai;
- Kahuku and Malaekahana on Oahu; and
- Lanai City on Lanai.
This funding is being authorized through the FCC’s The Connect America Fund Phase II auction, a 10-year program intended to close the digital divide in rural America.
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