A $120 million project to build an undersea optical fiber cable system connecting each of the Hawaiian islands with high-speed broadband internet is underway. It’s overseen by the University of Hawaii in a public-private partnership with Atlanta-based Ocean Networks Inc., which will build, operate and maintain the cable network as the interisland “backbone” of Connect Kakou, the state’s broadband initiative.

The need is urgent, since two of Hawaii’s three privately-run interisland fiber systems are past planned service lifetimes, and the third is more than halfway to obsolescence. Federal infrastructure funding will cover half of the costs, with the rest secured through borrowing and private investment.