Hawaii officials push broadband as key to post-pandemic economy

Critical to building a “Hawaii 2.0.” economy, as Gov. David Ige (D-HI) termed it in his annual State of the State address, is building out a broadband infrastructure that was not, in officials’ estimation, prepared to support the needs of widespread remote work, telehealth, and virtual learning. “A critical part of re-programming our economy is also the creation of a healthy statewide broadband network,” Gov Ige said. “During the pandemic, the importance of broadband to everything that we do was made all too real. All of us dramatically increased online activities, such as online learning, telework, telehealth, and workforce development and training.” Hawaii made some investments in broadband and internet access thanks to federal pandemic spending programs, said Burt Lum, the state’s broadband officer. But many of them were modest — such as using about $130,000 in CARES Act funding last year to buy software to support virtual health appointments — or paid for temporary infrastructure like mobile Wi-Fi hotspots. But as the health crisis has dragged on, it’s made clear that the state needs to make permanent investments.