Hawaii, home to nearly 1.3 million
people, is the most isolated island chain on earth. Our state's
unique geographic isolation presents special challenges in keeping
our families, communities and businesses connected across our
islands and to the outside world. The speed and quality of our
connection to the net directly impacts our ability to communicate,
educate, learn and conduct business. Despite the fact we are
arguably the most dependent on connectivity, we rank 48th in the
union in terms of average connection speed. A gigabit network in
Hawaii would enable applications of particular importance to our
state including telemedicine, distance learning (see http://hvln.k12.hi.us) and early
warning / disaster management systems for tsunamis and hurricanes.
We are the also the site of many “big science” projects for the US
including the country’s largest telescope projects. These
instruments generate terabytes of data daily that could be utilized
by research institutions around the world.
1. Hawaii is the most isolated and import-dependent state in the union. As such, it's imperative that its economic drivers shift from tourism and the military to the sale and export of locally-produced goods, content and intellectual capital. High-speed networking can help achieve this vision of sustainability per our state mandate (i.e. Lingle's Innovation Initiative.)
2. Hawaii represents a huge telemedicine testbed opportunity. Hawaii is the first state to offer online physician visits statewide. HMSA members (54% of the population) have access to online visits from their doctors. Kaiser was the first in the nation to operate mobile mammogram service in remote areas. Mammograms are transmitted in real time to physicians who can make a determination on the spot for follow up care. Availability of a high speed connection will allow Kaiser and HMSA to continue their innovation in this and other areas of telemedicine. HD video streaming is required for effective remote diagnostic and tele-surgery applications. This is obviously of particular importance to us given the fact our population is spread across the most remote island chain on earth.
3. Hawaii's speeds are among the worst in the nation. According to 2009 CWA report on Internet speeds and http://www.speedmatters.org, Hawaii ranks 48th of all states in terms of average download speed.
4. Hawaii's geography has always been a driver for cutting-edge high-speed networking. It's why the influential ALOHAnet, the predecessor to Ethernet, was invented in our state. There are thousands of families and communities scattered across the Hawaiian islands. Fiber would provide incredible opportunities for them to stay connected and participate in shared cultural events and educational opportunities. Workers providing net-based customer support from home can provide services spanning Japan to New York within regular local work hours.
We were also leaders in spreading the internet to Asia. The University of Hawaii implemented the first IP connections to Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand working with academic colleagues in those countries.
5. Hawaii is one of the most culturally diverse states with Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders comprising over half of the population. Over 22% of its citizens speak a language other than English at home, which presents an opportunity for real-time translation services and high-bandwidth experiences (such as streaming video with multiple language tracks) that enable cross-cultural communication and community building.
6. Google has offices in 17 states, but has no Hawaii presence. Why not? As mentioned above, Hawaii could be a great testbed for Google Health (http://health.google.com). Our state is the perfect place for software engineers to escape the colder weather of mainland winters, and it's certainly one of the most inspiring places on earth.
The only drawback to our proposal is that Google's infrastructure team will be forced to visit Hawaii frequently and endure our white sand beaches, pristine rainforests, breaching whales, awe-inspiring volcanoes and the prevalent spirit of aloha. :-)
On the Web
ThinkTech: Kevin Hughes, Dan Leuck, Nicole Hori on the Gigabit Initiative by Jay Fidell
Hawaii State Innovation Initiative Mandate
Luring Google with the Community's Support from Hawaii Public Radio
KITV: "Google Provides Communities with Faster Broadband Speed"
Hawaii News Now: "Hawaii pitching Google for super-fast Internet"
Honolulu Advertiser: "Hawaii applies to join Google's superspeed broadband frontier"
Honolulu Star Bulletin: "Hawaii is gung-ho on Google's gigabit gamble"
Slate: "Faster, Faster!"
Hawaii Science and Technology Council, University of Hawaii (David Lassner, CIO), TechHui, HTDC, ThinkTech, Hawaii Venture Capital Association, Hawaii Business Roundtable, Bytemarks, Ikayzo, People Bridge, Hawaii Green IT
Hawaii Business Roundtable Letter of Support (PDF)
People Bridge Proposal for Gigabit Killer Apps including Disaster Monitoring and Crime Prevention (PDF)
COMMUNITY RALLIES TO GET HAWAII IN
THE RUNNING FOR VISIONARY GOOGLE PROJECT
Islands Would Make Ideal Location For Google's Ultra-Fast Broadband Project
HONOLULU: FEBRUARY 26, 2010 – A community-based appeal for Google to make Hawaii one of the test locales for its recently announced ultra-fast broadband service is being organized through an online petition. Called Gigabit Hawaii, the initiative seeks to get tens of thousands of residents to add their support on the Gigabit Hawaii Facebook Page by a March 26 deadline when the petition of community based encouragement will be transmitted to Google -- which will be making initial selections after March 26th.
Local government has already made an official request but Google had stated that "a level of community support" would be one of the factors. The Gigabit Hawaii initiative hopes to help make the point by providing an easy way for the general public to participate with a quick online signing. People are asked to network the petition address to family and friends and through organizations.
Several leading members of the local high tech community drafted a multi point support document and formatted the petition. Olin Lagon of Kanu Hawaii stated his support; "Unlike most parts of the U.S., our own residents are separated by ocean. Enabling gigabit broadband directly into our communities could have a profound impact on better connecting our neighborhoods and islands as well as invigorating our challenged public educational system."
Reflecting on the economy, Dan Leuck of TechHui and Ikayzo said, "Being on the most isolated island chain on earth, the speed and quality of our connection to the net directly impacts our ability to communicate, learn, educate and conduct business. Google's gigabit broadband initiative could help reinvigorate communities and businesses in an economic downturn."
Kevin Hughes of Sprout said, "Hundreds of millions of people use and rely on Google's network-based applications as part of their daily lives. Let's show them that Hawaii residents want and deserve the kind of network infrastructure with the speed, efficiency, and reliability that their products are known for. Their presence will encourage innovation, spur competition, and lay the groundwork for an economy driven by the production of intellectual capital rather than the scarcity of natural resources."
Dan Leuck and Kevin Hughes appeared on Think Tech Hawaii with host Jay Fidell to discuss the initiative. The episode airs Sunday, March 1st at 10:00 pm on `Olelo channel 54.
If Google selects Hawai`i, residents and visitors could reap benefits in a multitude of ways only limited by interest instead of technologic shortcomings. The full text of the reasons to support the initiative and petition are included below. In addition to individuals signing the petition, organizations and media that help network this opportunity can contact Dan Leuck and ask to be included on the TechHui Gigabit Hawaii resource page as sponsors.
SCOTT FOSTER & ASSOCIATES
Marketing Communications, Public Relations, Political Strategy and Public-opinion Management Consultation
Phone: 808-988-0555, Email: fosters005@Hawaii.rr.com