Hawaiian Telcom’s public-private fiber broadband plan takes challenging terrain and rural limitations head-on

Jason Thune, VP of fiber strategy and deployment for Hawaiian Telcom, said that while it could have taken the easy route by targeting its larger markets, choosing to tackle the harder rural markets first demonstrates its commitment to wire the entire state with fiber, which is not an empty promise.

Thune, who has worked at Hawaiian Telcom for nearly 30 years, is no stranger to tackling rural broadband builds.

To help bring fiber broadband to some of Hawai‘i’s most rural areas, primarily on the neighbor islands, Thune spearheaded projects to pursue federal grants from the Connect America Fund Phase II, Connect America Fund Phase II Auction and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. His efforts led Hawaiian Telcom to secure $68.5 million to provide fiber broadband to 23,000 locations in rural areas.

“Capitalism would say, hey, do your most cost-effective locations with the highest densities so you can bring in revenues to help offset the costs, but we decided to do some of the hardest places first,” he said. “As you can imagine, in rural places, community is a lot more or equally as important as who you are, so if we're making a commitment to say, hey, we're going to do all of Hawaii, you can’t just do Honolulu.”

He added that “if we say we finished the most rural areas first, it tells people that you're investing in the most underserved areas and that you are committed.”

Given the challenges of serving the state’s rural areas, Hawaiian Telcom isn’t going it alone.

In early 2025, Hawaiian Telcom launched a $1.7 billion public-private fiber partnership, which includes about $107 million in federal and state funding from various broadband infrastructure programs.

“To get rural builds going, it involves some public-private partnerships with the state of Hawaii,” Thune said. “They helped to offset some of our costs and they even paid for 18 months of free Internet for people on those islands.”

Continuing expansion, speed upgrade efforts

As the service provider continues to expand its fiber broadband network, Hawaiian Telcom is focusing on increasing its reach and offering new speeds.

The provider debuted the 3 Gbps service in November, supporting single family and the growing multi-family housing space. Today, Hawaiian Telcom operates a fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) network, offering up to 3 Gbps symmetrical speeds. 

Hawaiian Telcom’s network already reaches over 400,000 homes and businesses, representing 60% of the state, with plans to connect the remaining 40% by the end of 2026.

Recent expansions include completing fiber connections on Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi in 2023.

Kauaʻi is expected to be completed in February, and Maui is expected to be fully connected by the end of this year. O‘ahu and Hawai‘i Island will follow by late 2026.

However, the service provider is not stopping there.

Hawaiian Telcom’s parent company altafiber recently announced that it selected Nokia’s 25G PON, IP routing, and advanced optical network solutions as the engine behind its network expansions in Ohio and Hawaii.  

Nokia's Lightspan 25G PON solution will enable altafiber to rapidly scale services, introduce differentiated offerings, and maximize its fiber infrastructure investments.

The modular PON platform provides seamless support for 10G, 25G, and even 50G PON on the same infrastructure, enabling altafiber and Hawaiian Telcom to optimize its network and gain the flexibility needed to address specific business cases or needs.

Nokia's IP routing solutions, including the 7750 Service Routers (SR), will form the backbone of the upgraded network. The service providers will also deploy Nokia's optical networks solution, including the 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) and 1830 Photonic Service Interconnect (PSI).

“We are pleased to partner with Nokia as we continue to expand our cutting-edge multi-gig XGS-PON fiber network into new Midwest territories and across Hawaii,” said Ron Beerman, Chief Network Officer of altafiber. “This partnership ensures we can deliver unparalleled speed and reliability to support the growing needs of our customers.”

Driving digital equity

Hawaiian Telcom's efforts to bring fiber broadband to hard-to-reach rural areas also underscore its commitment to advancing digital equity.

This will be particularly impactful in low-income communities like the Kalihi-Palama area.

Keiki (children) “can gain access to our computers for their schoolwork and become more comfortable with technology,” said Sam Aiona, executive director of Palama Settlement.

Hawaiian Telcom’s approach goes beyond deployment numbers. The company provides internet to all public schools and libraries as well as qualifying residents through the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL).

It has also helped connect vital community spaces, such as Hale Līhu'e, a combined community center, coworking space, and cafe in downtown Līhu'e, where broadband has spurred entrepreneurship and cultural experiences.

More recently, Hawaiian Telcom announced plans to donate $6 million to provide fiber service to all properties managed by the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, expanding access for underserved communities across the state.

Kaua‘i Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami said, "Rural communities should be afforded the same opportunities for digital access as anywhere else in the world.”