Column: Broadband access to all would boost telehealth, education, jobs

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of digital communication and high-speed internet (also known as broadband) for all those who live in and visit Hawaii. Broadband provides access to health care, education, employment, public services and social engagement. Without it, our kupuna are unable to obtain vital medical resources, our keiki miss out on digital learning, and we are unable to virtually connect with coworkers or loved ones.

Today, 44,000 people throughout Hawaii do not have access to broadband. There are areas, particularly on the neighbor islands, that lack the necessary infrastructure to deliver quality, reliable high-speed internet service.

The University of Hawaii reported tremendous growth in telehealth during the first month of the pandemic. A 2020 needs assessment report by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency showed that 92% of health care facilities across the state now offer telehealth visits to patients, up from 34% before the pandemic. Additionally, 92% of all students enrolled in public schools across the state are currently participating in either hybrid or full distance learning, according to the state Board of Education’s most recent metrics report.

Several federal programs exist to help our state improve connectivity. While this aid is welcomed, state and local authorities must combine local resources with contributions from the federal government in order to fully and effectively tackle this problem. A public-private partnership between the state of Hawaii and internet service providers is a key solution to closing the digital divide by maximizing funding to help address this problem and by setting up a program to administer and disperse broadband infrastructure money whether from state or federal sources.

Importantly, if more federal funding for broadband comes to states, it is essential that Hawaii have a program in place to administer grants quickly and efficiently, so that resources get to more people, faster. Proactively establishing a mechanism to disburse funds is vital to making sure underserved and unserved homes can receive high-speed internet networks built out to their neighborhoods quickly. More than 25 other states have these programs already in place, and legislation is pending in five more this year.

A bill moving through Hawaii’s Legislature would achieve this goal. House Bill 1191 would create a broadband grant program that allows the state and private companies to jointly invest and build out the necessary equipment to reach homes that don’t have access to the fast, stable internet connection needed to perform everyday tasks.

The bill requires the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and private-sector partners to work together to identify communities of concern that lack appropriate infrastructure for broadband capabilities. Private companies then invest money with the state to connect homes and businesses currently not receiving high-speed internet service. The public-private partnership as defined by HB 1191 gives the state control over which projects get funded, with a focus on areas without broadband infrastructure.

Additionally, the program will not prevent Hawaii from receiving federal dollars in other areas and may actually lead to more funding through coordinated statewide advocacy.

Legislation like HB 1191 moves the state in a direction where everyone can have quality, high-speed internet available in their home or business. That is why AARP, AlohaCare and longtime education advocates are in strong support of the measure — to ensure that every Hawaii resident has reliable and affordable access to high-speed internet.

The pandemic not only introduced us to the need for reliable internet access to get through challenging times, but it has also created a dependency for it and highlighted the inequity of those who have and those who do not. The time for Hawaii to act on increasing broadband access is now.

Francoise Culley-Trotman is CEO of AlohaCare; Joan Husted is a retired executive director of the Hawaii State Teachers Association; Keali‘i Lopez is AARP Hawaii state director.