The first wave of free public Wi-Fi hot spots in Hawaii, including in Wailuku, Hana and Kalaupapa, are active, the state Department of Commerce and Consumers Affairs said Wednesday.
The Wi-Fi hot spots, part of a requirement of the transfer of Oceanic Time Warner Cable to Charter Communications, offer one hour of free service per device per day.
The decision and order required Spectrum/Oceanic Time Warner Cable to provide at least 1,000 new public Wi-Fi access points in its cable franchise areas within four years of the close of the transaction in May 2016.
Spectrum/Oceanic is required to deploy 100 hot spots in public parks, civic and other community centers, and other public open areas and gathering places as directed by DCCA in consultation with the cable company.
To date, 44 of the 100 hot spots have been designated, with Hawaii island locations identified and forthcoming. The currently designated locations that are active include business and community gathering places in Hana and Wailuku and difficult to serve public areas in Kalaupapa.
The five Wailuku locations are on Market Street. The seven Hana locations include Hana General Store, Hana Community Center and the Hamoa area. There are 10 hot spots around Kalaupapa.
The 10 hot spots in Kaunakakai are expected to be active by fall, the DCCA news release said.
Spectrum/Oceanic has installed about 1,400 new hot spots in compliance with the state’s requirements.
DCCA said that free public Wi-Fi hot spots greatly enhance access to public health, education and other online services for those who lack internet access in their homes, live in unserved areas, or have other economic barriers to internet access.
The hot spots also benefit those with mobile electronic devices by reducing monthly data use.
“We are committed to enhancing access to free public Wi-Fi hot spots across the state,” said Catherine Awakuni Colon, DCCA director. “In addition to the current rollout, we also negotiated a Public Wi-Fi Partnership program to be deployed in the coming years as a condition of the Hawaiian Telcom-Cincinnati Bell transfer.”
Addresses and exact mapped locations of the state designated and active hot spots can be viewed on the CATV Broadband web page at: cca.hawaii.gov/broadband/dcca-designated-wifi-hotspots/.
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