Section 206S-3 - Hawaii broadband and digital equity office; duties In furtherance of the State's objectives and policies for the economy pursuant to section 226-10.5, the office shall:
(1) Develop and implement specific strategies and plans to aggressively increase broadband affordability, penetration, and competitive availability in the State;(2) Support the efforts of both public and private entities in the State to enhance or facilitate the deployment of and access to competitively priced, advanced electronic communications services, including broadband and its products and services and internet access services of general application throughout the State;(3) Promote the landing of trans-Pacific submarine cable, including the development of a shared access cable station and associated terrestrial connectivity to reduce barriers to fiber landing in Hawaii;(4) Promote, advocate, and facilitate the implementation of the findings and recommendations of the Hawaii broadband task force established by Act 2, First Special Session Laws of Hawaii 2007, and the 2020 Hawaii Broadband Strategic Plan;(5) Support the findings of the community-based Broadband Hui as reflected in its digital equity declaration;(6) Administer grant programs in support of broadband infrastructure, innovation, and the digital economy;(7) Actively seek out funding from public and private sources in furtherance of the office's duties pursuant to this section; and(8) Provide a repository, aggregation point, and governance framework for broadband mapping and digital equity data from various sources, including digital literacy, telehealth, distance education, remote work, internet accessibility, and service coverage to support mapping, reporting, infrastructure deployment, and data-driven policy.Added by L 2021, c 225,§ 7, eff. 7/1/2021.