Hawaii

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) more than $72 million from the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program to expand high-speed Internet access and adoption in Native Hawaiian households. The nearly $3 billion Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All Initiative.

Connect Kākou is the Hawaiʻi statewide broadband initiative led by the University of Hawai'i' Broadband Office (UHBO) to ensure people from all walks of life have reliable and affordable access to high-speed Internet. The name “Connect Kākou” was chosen to reflect Hawaii’s goal of using high-speed internet to connect everyone across the state. The Hawaiian word “kākou” is used to convey the idea of “all of us,” and underscores the sense of collective responsibility and unity that this initiative represents.

Hawaii’s broadband landscape has challenges like no other U.S. state. So how do you deliver broadband access to 100% of the residents and businesses in the most remote of the 50 states? “100% is hard to get to, but we’re going to make a really good try to get there,” said Garret Yoshimi, Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer of the University of Hawaii. Yoshimi is not Hawaii’s state broadband director.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Hawaii’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. This approval enables Hawaii to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program. Hawaii was allocated over $149 million to deploy or upgrade high-speed Internet networks to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service.  

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accepted Hawaii's Digital Equity plan. The Digital Equity Act, part of the Internet for All initiative and a key piece of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, provides $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs that promote digital equity and inclusion. The program aims to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy.

At least 13 states intend to undertake “nondeployment” projects as part of their funding under the $42.5-billion BEAD program, according to their initial proposals. The number of states that expect money left over after allocating funds for all unserved and underserved locations could be higher, and perhaps considerably so.

The vision of the Digital Equity Plan for Hawaiʻi will be the overarching guide that will steer the direction of all strategies, objectives, and actions in this plan. As remote work, online learning, telehealth services, and virtual interactions became essential, individuals and communities faced immense obstacles getting digitally connected. These challenges will continue without high quality Internet access, adequate tools, and the necessary digital literacy skills.