HI HR22

Urges Hawaiian Telcom to complete a system of fiber optic broadband cabling on the Island of Hawaii to provide network redundancy during emergencies.

Identifies a known 22-mile gap in fiber optic broadband cable infrastructure spanning from Volcano to Pahala on the Island of Hawaii.

References a September 2014 outage caused by a single Hawaiian Telcom fiber optic cable breakage that lasted nearly 20 hours and disabled phone service, creating public safety risks.

Notes that most of Hawaii's fiber optic broadband cable infrastructure is installed above ground on utility poles, making it vulnerable to damage from vehicles, extreme weather, or other catastrophic events.

Directs transmission of a certified copy of the resolution to the Administrator of the Cable Television Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.