Pahala is the first Hawaii Island ZIP code to be fully enabled to receive Hawaiian Telcom’s high-speed fiber internet service.
The company announced Tuesday that all Pahala residents and businesses within zip code 96777 now have access to the Fioptics service, which offers 1 gigabit per second download — which is among the fastest speeds in Hawaii — and the state’s fastest upload speed of 500 megabits per second.
Hawaiian Telcom’s fiber expansion extends into Na‘alehu, including Wai‘ohinu town and the Discovery Harbor subdivision, both of which incorporate some Hawaiian Home Lands.
“The place you call home shouldn’t limit your access to education, housing, health care and other opportunities,” Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth said in a press release. “Mahalo to Hawaiian Telcom for continuing to invest in Hawaii Island so our residents and businesses have access to online resources that enhance our quality of life here and enable our residents to thrive.”
Residents of Pahala and Na‘alehu might qualify for free internet service through August 2024, courtesy of the state Department of Transportation’s HI Connect Broadband Project. For information, please visit hawaiiantel.com/hiconnect or call Hawaiian Telcom at (808) 643-3456.
Hawaiian Telcom also participates in the federal Affordable Connectivity Program that offers a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households, and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Hawaiian Home Lands.
Eligible households also can receive a discount to purchase a device from participating providers. For information about ACP eligibility and enrollment, please visit fcc.gov/acp.
Since 2010, Hawaiian Telcom has invested more than $1 billion to expand its fiber footprint, maintain and increase capacity of its communications network, and support its integrated communication solutions for its business, residential and wholesale customers.
Last year alone, Hawaiian Telcom invested more than $160 million to expand and support its fiber network expansion efforts.
Visit hawaiiantel.com/fioptics to see if your location qualifies for Fioptics.