50,000 more Hawaiʻi locations getting ultra fast internet, including on Lāna‘i and Moloka‘i

This year, Hawaiian Telcom is expanding its ultra-fast fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) internet service known as Fioptics to 50,000 more Hawaiʻi locations, with more than half on the neighbor islands, including Lāna‘i and Moloka‘i.

Fioptics is delivered on Hawaiian Telcom’s fiber network that goes all the way to a home or business. A fiber-optic cable is made of thin strands of flexible glass fibers, each smaller than the width of a human hair. Fiber technology transmits data as light waves. With Fioptics, data literally travels at the speed of light.

“Fiber is the best technology for fast, reliable internet service that consumers and businesses demand,” said Jason Thune, Hawaiian Telecom executive director of fiber strategy & deployment. “A ‘fiber-ready’ home is future-proof, can accommodate all technological advancements in the coming decades and is well positioned for remote careers, new educational opportunities, expansion in telehealth and more.”

FTTP is more costly to deploy, but the end-user experience is superior. Benefits include faster speeds, lower delays and resistance to electromagnetic interference that can impact service over metallic cables. Multiple users on different devices can be online at the same time without interruption.

More than 215,000 homes and businesses have access to Fioptics service today as Hawaiian Telcom has been actively investing in expanding its fiber infrastructure to help bridge the digital divide in Hawai‘i for many years. Last year, Hawaiian Telcom invested more than $100 million to expand and support broadband access statewide.

Residents and businesses can log onto hawaiiantel.com/fioptics to check if their home or business qualifies for Fioptics.