Hawaiian Telcom Invests $223M in 2023: Future-Proof Fiber Network Reaches 50% of State
Continuing its endeavor to bridge Hawai‘i’s digital divide, Hawaiian Telcom invested over $223 million of private capital in 2023 to further expand its future-proof fiber network, which enables access to its fast, reliable fiber broadband service, Fioptics. The investment also increases the capacity of its network and supports solutions for its residential, business and wholesale customers.
“Culminating 140 years of building connections here in Hawai‘i, we reached the halfway mark in our statewide fiber expansion last year,” said Hawaiian Telcom President Su Shin. “Our team again exceeded expectations, enabling more than 64,000 additional homes and businesses with access to our fiber network, the most we’ve enabled in a single year.”
Approximately 337,000 locations in Hawai‘i now have access to Hawaiian Telcom’s 100% fiber internet service Fioptics that offers the fastest upload speed in the state at 500 megabits per second (Mbps) and one-gigabit download speed.
“Broadband access is critical to ensuring life is better for Hawai‘i’s residents, across the entire island chain,” said Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, who leads Connect Kākou, Hawai‘i’s statewide broadband initiative. “Hawaiian Telcom’s efforts to close the digital divide have significant positive effects from education to healthcare and everything in between.”
In 2023, Hawaiian Telcom’s fiber expansion included the entire island of Lāna‘i and more than 95% of the island of Moloka‘i as well as parts of Pahoa and Kailua Kona on Hawai‘i Island, Wailuku, Kihei, and Makawao on Maui, and Līhu‘e and Kilauea on Kaua‘i. CNET, a technology website specializing in product reviews and breaking news in technology, deemed Hawaiian Telcom the best internet provider in Honolulu, with the lowest prices.
Fiber-optic cables carry 10,000 times more bandwidth than traditional copper cables, enabling fast upload speeds and a superior experience with services such as video calls and security cameras. In addition to transmitting data at faster speeds, fiber-optic cables are more energy-efficient, more durable and less susceptible to elements such as water and electromagnetic interference.
Hawaiian Telcom is the only Hawai‘i internet service provider that has invested more than $1 billion over the last ten years to expand and support its network, and serve its customers. In 2024, Hawaiian Telcom plans to enable 60,000 additional locations with fiber.
Residents and businesses can visit hawaiiantel.com/fioptics to check if their location qualifies for Fioptics.
