Gigabit Hawaii
Published February 15, 2010
Why Hawaii is an Ideal Choice for Google's Gigabit Network
Hawaii, home to nearly 1.3 million people, is the most isolated island chain on earth. We are 2,390 miles from California, 3,850 miles from Japan, 4,900 miles from China and 5,280 miles from the Philippines. 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. Here are five reasons why Hawaii is an ideal choice for Google's gigabit initiative:
1. Hawaii's speeds are among the worst in the nation.
According to 2009 CWA report on Internet speeds, (http://cwafiles.org/speedmatters/state_reports_2009/CWA_Report_on_Internet_Speeds_2009_Appendix.pdf, also see http://www.speedmatters.org), Hawaii ranks 47th of all states in terms of average download speed.
2. 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 and intellectual capital. High-speed networking can help achieve this vision of sustainability per our state mandate (i.e. Lingle's Innovation Initiative.)
3. Hawaii's geography has always been a driver for cutting-edge high-speed networking.
It's why the influential ALOHAnet, the predecessaor to Ethernet, was invented here, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALOHAnet
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.
4. Hawaii represents a huge telemedicine testbed opportunity.
Hawaii is the first state to offer online physician visits statewide, open to 700,000 HMSA members (54% of the population):
http://aarondrose.blogspot.com/2009/01/telemedicine-in-hawaii-model-for.html
As noted in the article, if a high-speed testbed using this software across communities is successful, this would make a great starting point for taking the lessons learned and applying them to the rest of the nation. The software, community, and business infrastructure is already there!
5. 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.
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Added by: gigabithi on February 15, 2010, 4:12:17 pm
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Supporting Organizations: TechHui, Kanu Hawaii, ThinkTech
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Added by: gigabithi on February 15, 2010, 4:29:38 pm
----------------------------------------------------
Updating with a new logo from Kevin Hughes.
Hawaii, home to nearly 1.3 million people, is the most isolated island chain on earth. We are 2,390 miles from California, 3,850 miles from Japan, 4,900 miles from China and 5,280 miles from the Philippines. 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. Here are five reasons why Hawaii is an ideal choice for Google's gigabit initiative:
1. Hawaii's speeds are among the worst in the nation.
According to 2009 CWA report on Internet speeds, (http://cwafiles.org/speedmatters/state_reports_2009/CWA_Report_on_Internet_Speeds_2009_Appendix.pdf, also see http://www.speedmatters.org), Hawaii ranks 47th of all states in terms of average download speed.
2. 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 and intellectual capital. High-speed networking can help achieve this vision of sustainability per our state mandate (i.e. Lingle's Innovation Initiative.)
3. Hawaii's geography has always been a driver for cutting-edge high-speed networking.
It's why the influential ALOHAnet, the predecessaor to Ethernet, was invented here, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALOHAnet
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.
4. Hawaii represents a huge telemedicine testbed opportunity.
Hawaii is the first state to offer online physician visits statewide, open to 700,000 HMSA members (54% of the population):
http://aarondrose.blogspot.com/2009/01/telemedicine-in-hawaii-model-for.html
As noted in the article, if a high-speed testbed using this software across communities is successful, this would make a great starting point for taking the lessons learned and applying them to the rest of the nation. The software, community, and business infrastructure is already there!
5. 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.
----------------------------------------------------
Added by: gigabithi on February 15, 2010, 4:12:17 pm
----------------------------------------------------
Supporting Organizations: TechHui, Kanu Hawaii, ThinkTech
----------------------------------------------------
Added by: gigabithi on February 15, 2010, 4:29:38 pm
----------------------------------------------------
Updating with a new logo from Kevin Hughes.
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