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Hawaii says "Aloha" to high speed task force

The Hawaii state government recently launched the Hawaii Broadband Task Force, a new initiative that will examine the state's current high speed Internet capacity and its future potential.

The Task Force -- which includes industry representatives, local government officials, and members of the Hawaii Legislature -- will study the broad impact that improved high speed Internet access can have on the Hawaii economy, health care, education, and emergency services. As Task Force Chairman David Lassner said,

"Increasing the speed and availability of broadband service could affect the entire community. Clearly, it is a vital part of our economic, social, and educational infrastructure, but it can also make additional health care services available to our seniors and rural residents, for example. It is no exaggeration to call it the transformative technology of our generation."

The Task Force's specific goals are to:

(1) Remove barriers to broadband access, including gaining wider access to public rights-of-way; (2) Identify opportunities for increased broadband deployment and adoption, including very high speed broadband services; and (3) Enable the creation and deployment of new advanced communication technologies in Hawaii.

State Rep. Kyle Yamashita, who introduced the bill creating the Task Force, supported the initiative by noting the United States is seriously lagging behind much of the developed world in terms of high speed Internet access. He cited the fact -- contained in the Speed Matters White Paper -- that Japan's cost per megabit is a fraction of what Americans pay. This disparity will only get worse unless we as a nation take prompt action.

The work of wtate task forces like the one in Hawaii will be made easier by recent bills passed by the House of Representatives and introduced in the Senate by Hawaii's own Senator Daniel Inouye.  Among other things, these bills will provide funding to states to assist them with creating detailed broadband availability maps -- a key first step toward ensuring greater access.

Hawaii Broadband Taskforce Examines the Future of High-Speed Internet Access (Hawaii Reporter)

Hawaii Broadband Task Force

U.S. Falls Further Behind in High Speed Internet Access (Speed Matters)

Speed Matters: Affordable High Speed Internet for All