A new cable provider could be coming to the Big Island.
Today, the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs will hold public meetings in Hilo and Kailua-Kona to solicit feedback about a plan by Hawaiian Telcom to enter the island’s cable television market.
Hawaiian Telcom filed an application for a new cable television franchise with the DCCA in December. In that application, the company claimed that it will be able to provide equivalent service to Spectrum, currently the only cable provider authorized to operate on any Hawaiian island other than Oahu.
According to Hawaiian Telcom’s application, the company will use its own fiber network infrastructure to distribute its own cable television application at multiple subscription tiers, ranging from a $40 “basic” tier with about 50 channels to a $112 “advantage plus” tier with more than 200.
The application claims the service will be available in all Hawaii County census tracts where Hawaiian Telcom has installed its fiber infrastructure.
Although more specific data about the buildout of the company’s fiber infrastructure around the island was confidential, the application estimates that said network — branded as “Fioptics” — has more than 42,000 locations on the island, with about 44% of the island having access to fiber internet. Fioptics has been extended to “90% to 99% of households” in Mountain View, Naalehu and Pahoa.
Hawaiian Telcom argues in its application that its plan is in the best interests of the county because it breaks Spectrum’s monopoly on the market. The document estimates that Spectrum served roughly 40% of Big Island households as of 2023.
No timeline for when the new cable service could be available for customers was included in the application, although the request to the DCCA was for a 15-year franchise on the Big Island.
At today’s meetings, residents are encouraged to submit oral or written testimony about their thoughts on the application. Both meetings will take place at 5 p.m., with the Hilo event at the Aupuni Center Conference Room and the Kailua-Kona event at the West Hawaii Civic Center.
Hawaiian Telcom’s application and related documents can be reviewed at tinyurl.com/yfjzujjh.
Representatives of the DCCA did not respond to requests for comment Monday, while a Hawaiian Telcom representative was unable to respond by press time Monday.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.