HawTel’s phone-pole boxes are ‘hubs’ for fiber network

QUESTION: Can something be done about the big beige boxes that Hawaiian Telcom is installing on phone poles all over Manoa? There’s one on East Manoa Road, makai-bound before the triangle park; at Halelena Place and Oahu Avenue; and at Manoa Road, near Manoa School. One is being put up next to the bus shelter on Oahu Avenue at East Manoa Road. I haven’t seen them anywhere else in town. They are over 3 feet high, 2 feet wide, over a foot deep and eyesores.

ANSWER: There is no plan to remove or relocate those "distribution hubs" for Hawaiian Telcom’s "Next Generation" fiber network.

They’re being placed in neighborhoods across Oahu, enabling and extending services such as high-speed Internet and television, said spokeswoman Ann Nishida Fry.

She said the hubs are smaller than many existing boxes that house utility or cable company equipment, and placement is "carefully considered."

Placement is based on such factors as safety of the public, employees and equipment; compliance with all ordinances; accessibility; and effectiveness of the network, she said.

She also said every effort is made to avoid placing the hubs near intersections, curbs and driveways, placing them "where they are the least obtrusive while balancing all of these factors."

"Our goal is to provide the required services with minimal disruption," Nishida Fry said. "We thank the community for their understanding and support."

QUESTION: Every year we pull angels off of the Salvation Army Angel Trees at the mall and notice that a lot of children request bicycles. I went to buy two bikes from Walmart, but was told I had to pay for the registration for both 20-inch bikes. I explained that I was purchasing them as an anonymous charity donation. If I paid for the registration, they would be registered under my name and address. I do not want the recipients to know who we are. I had to settle for an 18-inch bike, which did not require the registration but would not be suitable for older children wanting bikes. How can we get around this problem?

ANSWER: There is no easy answer for this because by state law (Section 246-14 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes), bicycle and retail dealers are required to register bicycles that have wheels 20 inches or more in diameter when sold new.

"It really will depend on how accommodating the dealer or retailer’s store policy happens to be that will determine how successful a bicycle donor will be in remaining anonymous," said Sheri Kajiwara, director of the city Department of Customer Services.

The donor might be able to arrange to have the bicycle picked up by the recipient with the appropriate proof of purchase, for example, she said. But "the donor needs to clearly understand the store policy and, if allowed, make arrangements with the retailer or bicycle dealer beforehand."

Other options would be to purchase the bicycle online and provide the receipt with the donation so it can be registered by the recipient, or to offer a gift certificate for a bicycle, she said.

She advised caution when buying and registering a bicycle in your own name, then donating it without changing the owner’s name, because the registered owner would be held liable for any citations issued to that bike.

MAHALO

To the angel who turned in my birth certificate and Social Security card at the Pearl City DMV. I was filling out forms to renew my license when I forgot them. I looked all over but couldn’t find them, so went to the Department of Health to get another birth certificate, then to the federal building for a Social Security card. Just by chance I went back to the Pearl City DMV and was relieved they were safe. Thanks to the person who turned them in and to the worker who looked high and low and in every drawer to find them. — No Name

MAHALO

To Sheila S., who found my credit card at the Walmart parking lot. I had dropped it after shopping and was frantically trying to retrace my tracks. I came home to find a message on my answering machine that she had found it. She was gracious and did not accept my token of appreciation. I was truly blessed to have a person like Sheila find and return my credit card so quickly. — Sharon

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