Hawaii will receive $5,570,883 in federal grant funding to increase internet access for communities across the state, local and national officials announced Wednesday.
Part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Biden, the funding comes from the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and will be used to plan for the deployment of high-speed internet networks and develop digital skills training programs.
In a press conference Wednesday morning, Gov. David Ige said the funding “will benefit Hawaii’s families for years to come.”
Ige noted that in addition to expanding high-speed internet access across the state, the funding also will “support the development of digital skills training programs to help students and adults on every island develop the tools they need to succeed in our technologically connected world.”
“The challenges we faced over the past few years, as the pandemic limited our ability to connect in person, showed how important it is to have reliable internet access for all residents,” he continued. “Every family deserves access to affordable high-speed internet, whether you live in urban Honolulu or a rural part of a neighbor island. … I am especially pleased that this funding includes support for broadband access in Native Hawaiian communities through the Department of Hawaiian Homelands.”
During Wednesday’s conference, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, who joined via Zoom, said that the internet has become “the essential tool” for many facets of life, including work, education, health care and more, in addition to communication.
“But despite this … there are still thousands of households that we know in Hawaii and millions around the country that don’t have access or the skills that they need to take advantage of these opportunities, and that is what we are here to fix,” Davidson said.
He also noted that concerns over the “digital divide” throughout the country have been ongoing for the last two decades. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, he said, provides the “resources to do something serious about it.”
“That law provides nearly $50 billion to invest in an ambitious and simple mission to connect everyone in Hawaii, and everyone in America, to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet service,” he said. “We are calling this ‘Internet for All,’ and we mean it.”
Ige noted during the conference that the state’s funding will include $5 million that will go toward identifying underserved households, expanding the state broadband office, and supporting state efforts to better understand barriers for unserved and underserved communities. The other $570,883 will be set aside for digital equity efforts, including the development of a digital equity plan for the state, along with outreach to unserved and underserved communities.
Officials said that apart from these grants, additional federal funding will be available toward this effort in the future.
