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From the August 12 Star Advertiser:
Big Island subdivision gets speedier Internet
By Star-Advertiser staff
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 12, 2015
Hawaiian Telcom said it expanded availability of its High-Speed Internet service in Keaau’s Orchidland Estates subdivision on Hawaii island.
The technology company said Monday it deployed High-Speed Internet service to more than 500 locations in Orchidland Estates from 34th to 41st avenues and from Pohaku Drive to Ainaloa Boulevard. All locations will qualify for 4 megabits per second downstream and 1 megabit per second upstream. Login for more...
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All locations will qualify for 4 megabits per second downstream and 1 megabit per second upstream.
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4 megabits? I guess it beats dial-up...
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quote:
Originally posted by KeaauRich
From the August 12 Star Advertiser:
Big Island subdivision gets speedier Internet
By Star-Advertiser staff
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 12, 2015
Hawaiian Telcom said it expanded availability of its High-Speed Internet service in Keaau’s Orchidland Estates subdivision on Hawaii island.
The technology company said Monday it deployed High-Speed Internet service to more than 500 locations in Orchidland Estates from 34th to 41st avenues and from Pohaku Drive to Ainaloa Boulevard. All locations will qualify for 4 megabits per second downstream and 1 megabit per second upstream. Login for more...
Don't get too excited. I live within that area and was one of the first to call and request service. They told me that my area still qualified for land line only- no broadband internet. I don't know what they mean by "all locations" when it still doesn't apply to anybody I know.
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The plot thickens!
For Immediate Release
CONTACTS:
Ann Nishida Fry
(808) 546-1888
Ann.nishida@hawaiiantel.com
Su Shin
(808) 546-2344
Su.shin@hawaiiantel.com
Hawaiian Telcom Expands High-Speed Internet in Orchidland Estates
Connect America Funds Help Accelerate Broadband Expansion in Rural Areas
HONOLULU (August 10, 2015) - Hawaiian Telcom has expanded availability of its High-Speed Internet service in Keaau's Orchidland Estates subdivision. The expansion was accelerated largely due to approximately $400,000 in support from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s Connect America Fund (CAF).
"Hawaiian Telcom is pleased to partner with the FCC through the Connect America Program to invest in deploying broadband in remote, high-cost rural areas," said Steve Golden, VP - External Affairs for Hawaiian Telcom.
CAF was created in 2011 as part of the FCC's reform of its universal service programs, which consumers contribute to as a Universal Service fee on their monthly telephone and wireless bills, to drive investment in 21st century broadband and voice services.
Hawaiian Telcom deployed High-Speed Internet service to more than 500 locations in Orchidland Estates from 34th Ave. to 41st Ave., from Pohaku Dr. to Ainaloa Blvd. All locations will qualify for 4 Megabits per second (Mbps) downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. Interested residents should call Hawaiian Telcom's Consumer Sales Center at toll-free 808-643-3456. A valid street address is required.
Hawaiian Telcom initially deployed broadband to parts of Orchidland Estates in 2003. The company was eligible for CAF support because no other fixed broadband provider served this area.
With additional CAF support of approximately $1 million, Hawaiian Telcom continues its broadband expansion on Hawaii Island and will deploy service to more than 1,300 additional locations in the Hawaii Ocean View Estates, Honaunau, Keaau, Mountain View and Volcano communities by the end of this year.
So they only service Orchidland because taxpayers gave them $400,000.00 to do it, but nobody I know in Orchidland can get service. I emailed the contacts mentioned in the article and asked them for an explanation.
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I don't know whether this is newsworthy enough but if you could get the media in on the communications, like having whatever answer you get wind up on the news, that would be interesting. Telling unwashed Punatics no is one thing, going "public" with such an inconsistency is quite another.
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Why stop at the media? If FCC money has been misappropriated then it deserves a congressional inquiry.
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$400,000 in support from the Federal Communications Commission ... additional CAF support of approximately $1 million
It will be "ironic" when a taxpayer-funded subsidy still doesn't extend the service area to those same taxpayers.
Why, it's almost exactly like paying FTR on every gallon of gas, but somehow not getting any road maintenance near my house.
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As I write this I'm on DSL in Orchidland! I wanted to wait until it was actually hooked up and running before I posted anything, and here it is. It's the Hawaiian Telcom "basic" package at "up to 7 Mbps down / 1 Mbps up" for $19.99/month ($23 and some change after taxes, surcharges etc). It's the fastest rate they offered but we're excited to have it! Our last Verizon bill was over $300, 90% of that because of data. VERIZON... YOU CAN NOW OFFICIALLY GO HAVE FUN WITH YOURSELF! That's a G-rated F word I can use!
Actual speed (via DSL reports speed test) 6.72 down, 0.928 up... which is pretty much where it should be at their advertised rate... especially at this hour of peak usage.
Now you're wondering... how did this happen? If I punch my address into the Hawaiian Telcom web site, it still says it can't find my address. When I called seeking service, they said that I was only eligible for voice service.
Honestly, I don't think my address was EVER in their system as being even potentially available for data. Every time I called them over the last 3.5 years I was probably completely wasting my time. I contacted corporate types in Honolulu to make this happen... it seems since after their FCC-sponsored upgrade I was eligible for DSL all along, I just wasn't greasing the right wheels. (Translation: complaining politely).
Now we're not counting bytes again like we were on Verizon. We're streaming videos and going data crazy. It's like, technologically we've gone back to 2006 in Alaska. Wooo Hooo!
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Hmmm. If it was physically impossible then contacting corporate types would have made no difference, so the real reason you were not getting service was most likely some form of incompetence or inertia. Who did you talk to? I just got Exede but it is $60/month for the first 3 months then goes up to $80/month after that. That's for 12 mbps and 12 gigabytes. No cap on your data? I asked Hawaiian Telcom if there was service in Eden Roc and was told no, but your story casts things in a different light.
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Just ran a test. I am getting 4.3 megabits/sec down and .96 megabits/sec up. The Exede service was advertised 12 down and 3 up.
