$72M grant from federal government to boost internet access for Native Hawaiians

“Access to affordable, reliable internet is not a luxury,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in a Tuesday press release. In today’s interconnected world, “it’s a necessity.”

Native Hawaiian homes in Hawai’i will soon get that vital internet service after the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands was awarded more than $72 million from the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

The funds — which were announced Tuesday — will be used to expand high-speed internet access and adoption in Native Hawaiian households throughout the islands.

“This award will ensure that Native Hawaiians have the internet connections they need to take advantage of digital opportunities for work, education, health care and other essential services,” said Raimondo. “That’s why this historic investment to connect tribal communities is so important.”

The nearly $3 billion Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All Initiative.

This grant marks the first award in the second round of funding, which made nearly $1 billion available for the deployment of internet infrastructure on tribal lands, affordability programs, telehealth and distance learning initiatives throughout the nation.

“Access to the internet is just the starting point,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and National Telecommunications and Information Administration Administrator Alan Davidson in the release. “With this Internet for All grant, Native Hawaiians will have new high-speed internet connections — and new opportunities through device purchases, workforce training and digital education to make the most of those connections.”

The $72,708,711 award will fund internet infrastructure deployment and adoption projects to connect unserved Native Hawaiian households to high-speed internet service, providing them with essential resources to fully participate in the digital economy, including access to telehealth services, remote education and job training.

Infrastructure activities include:

• Investing more than $26.1 million to deploy middle-mile fiber optic lines to Hawaiian homestead communities.
• Investing more than $15.45 million to construct community digital innovation centers to be used for digital workforce development training and digital literacy training courses.
• Managing wireless telecommunications towers throughout the Hawaiian Islands to ensure connection remains to already served households.

Adoption and use activities include:

• Offering digital literacy skills classes to Native Hawaiians on several of the Hawaiian Islands.
• Purchasing and providing those participants with computers.
• Providing in-person workforce development opportunities to equip them with expertise, hands-on experience and certifications in the telecommunications sector.
• Creating new outreach coordinators for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, a Hawai’i Democrat, said digital access is a fundamental right — an essential for daily life — in today’s world; however, sadly, too many families, especially those in rural areas, are living without it.

“That’s why this award to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is urgently needed and essential for our beneficiaries,” said Tokuda. “It will provide more Native Hawaiian families with the tools needed to thrive online and beyond while supporting digital equity. We must continue to move forward in this digital age by equipping everyone with equal access to a brighter future.”

Projects funded by the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program so far throughout the nation have either been completed or are under construction in 27 tribal communities, and more than 4,600 households have received access to free or low-cost high-speed internet service.