Connect Kākou: Maui County updating information on areas with poor internet connectivity

Maui County residents, nonprofits, internet service providers and others are encouraged to help update information about locations that have unserved or underserved internet connectivity in an effort to bolster high-speed internet across the state.

Tentatively launching next month, the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program’s Challenge Process provides an opportunity for participants to help correct information about locations throughout Hawaiʻi that have no access (unserved) or have substandard access (underserved) to the internet.

Participants must submit evidence through a map-based web portal to correct information about locations without high-speed internet connection. Details gathered will be instrumental in directing infrastructure buildout to areas that most need upgrades.

To prepare for the Challenge Process, eligible Maui entities and residents are encouraged to attend upcoming training sessions or review past training webinars by University of Hawaiʻi (UH), https://tinyurl.com/pastUHwebinars. Sessions will provide detailed instructions on how to navigate the map-based web portal and submit challenges effectively. Register for a training session at https://tinyurl.com/beadtraining. 

BEAD Challenge overview and training dates for Maui County include the following:

• Maui, June 21, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.: Hybrid training, UH Maui College Noiʻi Building Room 204
• Maui, June 22, 9-11 a.m.: Hybrid training, UH Maui College Laulima Building Room 102 
• Statewide, June 27, noon-1 p.m.: Virtual, Statewide Individual Challenge Training 
• Molokaʻi, July 8, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.: Hybrid training, Molokaʻi Education Center Room 105 
• Maui, July 10, 11:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m.: Hybrid training, UH Maui College Noiʻi Building Room 204

“The BEAD State Challenge Process is an important step in the process to get the highest quality data about unconnected or poorly connected residences across our state,” said Garret T. Yoshimi, UH vice president for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer. “This will allow us to maximize the benefits of the federal broadband investments to help achieve our goal of 100% access to high-speed Internet for our residents.”

One in 10 people do not have access to high-speed internet in Hawaiʻi, according to State of Hawaiʻi data. Connect Kākou, a State of Hawaiʻi initiative, is dedicated to providing all residents with affordable high-speed broadband internet with an investment of more than $300 million in federal funds. As part of the initiative, UH is coordinating the BEAD program, which includes nearly $150 million to address the roughly 12,700 homes in Hawai’i where high-speed internet is not available. For details on Connect Kākou, visit www.connectkakou.org. For information on the BEAD Challenge Process, training sessions and how to participate, visit https://www.hawaii.edu/broadband/challenge-process/

For information on the County of Maui collaboration with the state’s Connect Kākou and BEAD program, call County Office of the Mayor Executive Assistant Jolie Jenkins at (808) 270-7855.