The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on Tuesday, May 14, 2019, 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 Sen. 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, Laupāhoehoe, Orchidland and Pepe‘ekeo on Hawai‘i Island;

Hawaiian Acres, Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, Kohala, Laupāhoehoe, Orchidland and Pepe‘ekeo on Hawai‘i Island; Haiku, Hana, and Olowalu on Maui;

Kaunakakai and Ualapue on Moloka‘i;

Hanapepe, Kilauea, Kokee, Kekaha, and Waimea on Kaua‘i;

Kahuku and Malaekahana on O‘ahu; and

Lana‘i City on Lana‘i.

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.