Plans to construct several new fiber-optic internet subsea cables that will improve Hawaii’s internet reliability and connectivity were announced Tuesday by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and Benji Robinson, director of Asia Pacific network planning and acquisition for Google.
The $1 billion project, funded by Google, is being carried out in partnership with the state’s Connect Kakou internet initiative, which functions to ensure that people from all walks of life have reliable and affordable access to high-speed internet, according to a news release.
“As connectivity has become increasingly necessary in our lives, we must ensure that every person in our state has reliable access to high-speed internet,” said Luke, who also leads the Connect Kakou initiative. “That starts with infrastructure.”
With Hawaii’s unique geography, the state’s ability to connect can affect access to health care, education, finances, social services and friends and family, she added. And with two of the state’s three main undersea cables nearing the end of their operational life spans, this will be the first significant upgrade to Hawaii’s undersea infrastructure in years, she said.
Among the cables set for construction, the new Taihei cable will connect Hawaii directly to Japan. The new interlink cable will connect Hawaii to Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and an extension to the existing Tabua cable will connect the state to the mainland, Fiji and Australia.
“With this, Hawaii now becomes a key digital hub in the Pacific,” Robinson said.
And while the circumference of the cables is similar to that of a garden hose, they function as the backbone of internet connection, he added.
The construction of the cables assists Google in delivering on its three core network objectives: reach, reliability and resilience. This means improved bandwidth in areas where it may not be robust enough for services such as video calling, improved access to the many industries that are now heavily dependent on reliable internet, and facilitating faster service recovery in the event of disasters, Robinson said.
While such cables typically take three to five years to construct, Robinson said the earliest completion date is estimated to be in 2026. However, the date of completion could be extended depending on a variety of factors, including weather, he said.
In addition to Google’s $1 billion commitment, Hawaii is also expected to receive a historic $320 million in federal funding over the next five years to build critical internet infrastructure across the state and increase digital literacy and equity, according to a news release. The federal approval of Hawaii’s Digital Equity Plan in March is also expected to serve as another major stride in prioritizing federal funding to develop digital equity projects and programs.
As Connect Kakou continues its work to address the vulnerabilities of the state’s current internet infrastructure, Luke concluded the Tuesday program by thanking the many partners involved in the project who are aiding in the initiative.
“As more and more undersea cables have bypassed us, this is such a significant development,” Luke said. “As our office continues to work on Connect Kakou … and ensure that we close that digital divide, it is essential that we have this connection to the world.”
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Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
