Hawaiian telcom, INC is proposing to build an economically and environmentally sustainable, open access middle mile infrastructure that will benefit unserved and underserved communities and improve…

Hawaiian Telcom, Inc. was awarded an $87.5 million project grant from the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration under the Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program (CFDA 11.033) to construct over 600 kilometers of new terrestrial and undersea fiber optic infrastructure across five Hawaiian islands. Through its five-year Project Urgent initiative launching in July 2023, Hawaiian Telcom will build 15 new terrestrial and undersea routes to expand middle mile broadband availability and improve resiliency for unserved and underserved communities in rural areas of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui and Hawaii. The open access network aims to decrease broadband costs for businesses, institutions and consumers in locations currently reliant on satellite or legacy services. No sub-awards are associated with this award to Hawaiian Telcom for deployment of new middle mile infrastructure across the Hawaiian islands.

Intended beneficiaries

The proposed installation will take place throughout the islands of kauai, oahu, molokai, maui, and hawaii, and in the surrounding waters of the pacific ocean. IT will target rural, underserved, unserved communities on each island and protect against climate change. The project will create a resilient network, maintain affordable rates, and provide the middle mile backbone for the applicant and other providers, laying the foundation for increased broadband penetration. IT will allow for the enablement of last mile connectivity that will benefit businesses and beneficiaries located on hawaiian home lands and other underserved and unserved communities. The project is expected to result in a material reduction in end-user consumer broadband prices and the cost of broadband services to anchor institutions and businesses. IT will also have considerable economic benefits for the state of hawaii. Hawaii ranks #2 in the nation for military personnel serving in the state in relation to total population. Home to the US indo-pacific command, hawaii is one of six geographic combatant commands and is responsible for oversight of half of the globe including russia, china, and north korea where national security interests run high. Hawaii has a total of 11 military bases statewide representing all branches and the proposed project will greatly enhance the resiliency to several key military installations, benefiting national security interests of the united states and the department of defense.

Subrecipient activities

The applicant does not intend to subaward funds