Hawaiian Telcom Confident About 2026 Fiber Goal: President
Plans for Hawaii to be the first fully fiber-enabled state in the U.S. will have to overcome such logistical and operational challenges as its remote location and the difficulty of getting from island to island, Hawaiian Telcom President Su Shin…
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said Wednesday. During a Fiber Broadband Association webinar, Shin said those access issues add to costs. While the timeline is “aggressive,” a lot of the most difficult areas have already been built, and the company is confident it can meet the deadline of the end of 2026, she said. About 60% of Hawaii -- more than 400,000 homes and businesses -- is fiber-enabled, she said, with two of the six main islands complete and the focus turning to the others over the next two years. She said federal support, such as via the rural deployment opportunity fund and NTIA’s middle mile program, will help with the highest-cost areas, but 90% of the $1.7 billion fiber project comes from private capital.