Hawaiian Telcom invested over $160 million in private capital in 2022 to expand its statewide fiber network, increase its network capacity and support its technology and communications solutions for customers.

“Our vision is to make a positive impact in Hawai‘i by shrinking the digital divide and enabling as many homes and businesses with fiber internet service as we can,” Hawaiian Telcom President and General Manager Su Shin said Tuesday in a statement. “Internet connectivity makes a positive difference in our quality of life and we want to see that for every resident and every business.”

Hawaiian Telcom exceeded its original target in 2022 and expanded fiber to 55,000 additional homes and businesses, the highest number of locations it has enabled in a single year.

“Broadband expansion must be a top priority in our state to address digital inequity and to improve access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities,” Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, who leads Hawaii’s statewide broadband initiatives, said in a statement. “Companies such as Hawaiian Telcom are playing a critical role in helping to move our state forward.”

Approximately 268,000 locations in Hawaii now have access to Hawaiian Telcom’s 100% fiber internet service Fioptics with the fastest upload speed in the state of 500 megabits per second and ultrafast 1 gigabit download speed.

In 2022, Hawaiian Telcom focused on expanding its fiber infrastructure to more rural and underserved areas, with more than half of the additional 55,000 fiber-enabled locations on the neighbor islands. Hawaiian Telcom expanded fiber to all of Kealia and Lawai on Kauai as well as parts of Manoa, Kailua and Waimanalo on Oahu; Wailuku on Maui; and Kalaoa and Laupahoehoe on Hawaii island.

Hawaiian Telcom plans to enable 60,000 additional locations with fiber in 2023.