HONOLULU — Hawaiian Telcom announced on Thursday that Kealia with ZIP code 96751, and Lawa‘i with ZIP code 96765 on Kaua‘i are the first two ZIP codes in the state that Hawaiian Telcom has completely enabled with fiber.
Over the past two years, Hawaiian Telcom enabled more than 13,000 locations on Kaua‘i with its fiber-to-the-premise service. About 44 percent of Kaua‘i, including all residents and businesses in Kealia and Lawa‘i, now have access to Hawaiian Telcom’s 100 percent fiber internet service Fioptics with 1 gigabit per second download speed and the fastest upload speed in the state at 500 megabits per second.
“Fast, reliable internet service, especially in underserved areas, make a significant difference to our local families,” said Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami. “Hawaiian Telcom’s continued investment to expand its fiber network and offer broadband access to more people and businesses here on Kaua‘i enhances our quality of life and opens doors to more opportunities in telehealth, education, e-commerce and more.”
Hawaiian Telcom is the only provider in Hawai‘i that takes fiber all the way to homes and businesses for improved reliability and speed. Residents and businesses can visit hawaiiantel.com/fioptics to check if they qualify for Fioptics.
Duke Sardinha, the Hawaiian Telcom customer operations manager on Kaua‘i, said, “We’re proud that the first two ZIP codes to be fully enabled with fiber are both on Kaua‘i. No community is too small. We are committed to expanding our fiber infrastructure so that people can enjoy the benefits of broadband wherever they are in Hawai‘i.”
Hawaiian Telcom participates in the federal Affordable Connectivity Program that offers a discount of up to $30 a month toward internet service for eligible households.
Eligible households can also receive a discount to purchase a device from participating providers. For information about ACP eligibility and enrollment, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/acp.
Since 2010, Hawaiian Telcom has invested more than $1 billion to expand its fiber footprint, maintain and increase capacity of its communications network, and support its integrated communication solutions for its customers.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
