Hawaiian Telcom Jumps on the Gigabit Train

Hawaiian Telcom says it will launch a 1-Gbps broadband service June 8. The service provider will use fiber to the home (FTTH) for the new offering, whose 1-Gbps rate is double the speed of the fastest Internet available on the islands today -- a 500-Mbps service also offered by Hawaiian Telcom.

Initially, 96,000 locations will qualify for the FTTH service, with more expected to be added as the deployment of fiber continues.

In the last six years, the company has spent almost $500 billion building its fiber network and systems, and expects to invest another $100 million in 2015.