MEDIA RELEASE: Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Receives $72 Million Grant From Biden-Harris Administration to Expand Broadband Connectivity

STATE OF HAWAIʻI
KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI

 

DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS
Ka ʻOihana ʻĀina Hoʻopulapula Hawaiʻi

 

JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR
KE KIAʻĀINA

 

KALI WATSON
DIRECTOR
KA LUNA HOʻOKELE

 

KATIE L. LAMBERT
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
KA HOPE LUNA HOʻOKELE

 

DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS RECEIVES $72 MILLION GRANT FROM BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION TO EXPAND BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY

Federal and state officials celebrate announcement of the expansion of broadband services to underserved households on Hawaiian home lands.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 12, 2024

HONOLULU – The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) announced it has received a $72 million grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP). This grant, along with a $17 million grant DHHL received from NTIA earlier this year, provides a total of $89 million to expand broadband internet access to thousands of underserved households on Hawaiian home lands by funding new telecommunications infrastructure, workforce development programs and digital equity initiatives for DHHL lessees.

“This new federal funding will mean communities on Hawaiian home lands will have better, more reliable high-speed internet at home, helping more people access education, health care, and employment resources online,” said Hawai‘i’s United States Senator Brian Schatz, who serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and helped secure funding for the grant.

The TBCP grant will help bring fast fiber optic internet connections to thousands of DHHL lessees throughout the state. The grant will fund telecommunications infrastructure on Hawaiian home lands in areas that have limited access to broadband service – and will be used to establish connections at planned housing developments.

“Access to the Internet is just the starting point for today’s award,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson. “With this Internet for All grant, Native Hawaiians will have new high-speed Internet connections – and new opportunities through device purchases, workforce training, and digital education to make the most of those connections.”

The grant was announced today at a media event in Honolulu in the offices of Hawaiʻi Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke, leader of Connect Kākou, Hawaiʻi’s high-speed internet initiative.

“For too long, many communities on Hawaiian home lands have lacked equitable access to the digital tools citizens need to participate fully in our modern economy,” said Luke. “This grant empowers people with the resources they need to succeed and will strengthen the bonds of our communities.”

Grant funds will be dispersed over a four-year period, with projects rolling out through 2028.

“The TBCP grant will enable DHHL to bring high-speed internet, digital education programs, and new community centers to our homesteads across the pae ʻāina,” said DHHL Director Kali Watson. “It’s more than just connectivity; it’s about opening doors to opportunity, through education, employment, and access to healthcare and other essential services. Mahalo to our federal partners at NTIA for supporting this vision.”

In addition to infrastructure projects, the TBCP grant will also support:

• Workforce Development Programs – training and skills development to support digital jobs and career opportunities.
• Digital Equity and Education Initiatives – resources and programs aimed at increasing digital literacy and ensuring that DHHL lessees have the skills necessary to bridge the digital divide.
• Community Centers – establishing centers on Hawaiian home lands where residents can access digital education resources and public internet.

Click here to download pictures from today’s event.

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About the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands:

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands carries out Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole’s vision of rehabilitating native Hawaiians by returning them to the land. Established by U.S. Congress in 1921 with the passage of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, the Hawaiian homesteading program run by DHHL includes management of more than 200,000 acres of land statewide with the specific purpose of developing and delivering homesteading.

About the National Telecommunications and Information Administration

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is the Executive Branch agency that advises the President on telecommunications and information policy issues. NTIA’s programs and policymaking focus largely on expanding broadband Internet access and adoption in America, expanding the use of spectrum by all users, advancing public safety communications, and ensuring that the Internet remains an engine for innovation and economic growth.

Media Contact: 
Diamond Badajos

Information and Community Relations Officer

Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

Cell: 808-342-0873

Email: [email protected]