MEDIA RELEASE

HONOLULU – The State of Hawai‘i today announced a collaborative bid with all four counties to partner with Google on its “Fiber for Communities” project, an initiative to provide 1 gigabit per second broadband service in a fiber-to-the-home network. Google’s project would increase the speed of connectivity for homes and businesses by over one hundred times and create exciting new possibilities for everything from telemedicine to distance learning.

Google is planning to build and test ultra-high speed broadband networks in a small number of trial communities across the country, ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 households. Google wants the selected community to explore the potential of ultra-high speed broadband, whether it’s creating bandwidth-intensive “killer apps” and services, or other possibilities we can’t yet imagine.

“Hawai‘i and Google are two of the world’s most recognized brand names. Both are synonymous with excellence, value, and satisfaction,” said Governor Linda Lingle. “A Google ‘Fibers for Communities’ project in Hawai‘i will unite these two global brands into an attractive and compelling platform to demonstrate the benefits of ultra-high speed broadband. With nearly 7 million visitors a year from all over the world, I can think of no better place for Google to showcase the infinite possibilities of the 21st Century and beyond.”

The State of Hawai‘i and the counties have agreed to work in partnership to support deployment of Google’s network. This partnership will provide Google a “one-stop” interface to facilitate regulatory and permitting requirements. Under this partnership, the State and county governments are prepared to provide regulatory relief where possible to facilitate the deployment of an ultra-high speed broadband network. In addition, the application also calls for comprehensive partnerships with both the public and private sectors of Hawai‘i’s community, as well as accelerated development of applications to benefit the state.

The State’s application touts Hawai‘i’s unique and diverse choices where a Google network might be deployed citing Hawai‘i’s broad spectrum of urban and rural communities with a diversity of social-economic populations residing within a variety of terrains, climates and topographies.

“We’re always looking for innovative ways to advance technology in Hawai`i and expand our capacity for learning,” said Lt. Governor James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr. who met with the Neighbor Island Mayors earlier this month to promote a collaborative statewide partnership with Google on the experimental fiber network. “In order to remain competitive in the 21st Century, it is critical that Hawai‘i have robust broadband connectivity – both within the state and with the rest of the world.”

“This would be a tremendous opportunity for the people of Hawai‘i,” said Kaua‘i County Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. “We are appreciative of the collaboration between the State and the four counties in preparing a proposal that shows unity and a solid commitment to making this program work.”

“We are excited by the possibilities presented by the Google initiative, and are pleased to be joining this statewide partnership,” said Hawai‘i County Mayor Billy Kenoi. “We will pursue all opportunities to advance the technological infrastructure on our island and in our state to help our communities create jobs, and to better educate our children and youth.

Hawai‘i residents have a unique opportunity to help bring Google’s ultra-high speed project to Hawai‘i through completing a community response on Google’s “Fiber for Communities” website at http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/ before March 26.

Another alternative is to visit http://techhui.com and click “Become a Fan” at the top of the page to show your support via Facebook. If you do not have a Facebook account, techhui provides an alternate petition site here: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/gigabithi/