  {"id":209902,"date":"2025-01-28T15:50:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T01:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=209902"},"modified":"2025-01-28T15:50:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T01:50:23","slug":"rpfs-to-expand-state-broadband","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/01\/28\/rpfs-to-expand-state-broadband\/","title":{"rendered":"<abbr>UH<\/abbr> seeks proposals to expand statewide broadband access"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> &lt; 1<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minute<\/span><\/span><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/system-gnrc-broadband.jpg\" alt=\"Broadband fiber\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-163546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/system-gnrc-broadband.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/system-gnrc-broadband-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/system-gnrc-broadband-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½<\/span> continues the goal of expanding high-speed internet access across the state. The <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> Broadband Office released eight Requests for Proposals (<abbr>RFP<\/abbr>s), a significant milestone in <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s multi-year effort under the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program to address disparities in broadband coverage.<\/p>\n<p>In December 2024, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration approved the State\u2019s Challenge Process results that include lists of unserved and underserved locations to be connected under the program.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;High-speed internet is critical for creating opportunity and advancing equity in digital access,&rdquo; said Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, who leads the state\u2019s Connect K\u0101kou initiative. \u201cWe are taking an important step forward to connect communities that have been historically underserved, and I\u2019m grateful to the many partners who are contributing to a more connected <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <abbr>RFP<\/abbr> process will lead to the competitive selection of vendors to connect these communities, as well as nearly 700 community anchor institutions, which include schools, libraries, healthcare facilities, and other public spaces that provide broadband access and essential support services to residents.<\/p>\n<p>Interested parties are encouraged to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/broadband\/beaddeploymentrfp\/\">review the <abbr>RFP<\/abbr> details and submit proposals<\/a> by January 31, 2025.<\/p>\n<p><span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s participation in the BEAD program is part of <a href=\"https:\/\/connectkakou.org\/\">Connect K\u0101kou<\/a>, the State of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½<\/span> initiative to ensure people from all walks of life have reliable access to high-speed internet, and have the tools and knowledge to safely and confidently use the internet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&ldquo;High-speed internet is critical for creating opportunity and advancing equity in digital access,&rdquo; &#8212; Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[61,62,63,64,65,14,9,60,947,59,66],"class_list":["post-209902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-hawaii-community-college","tag-honolulu-community-college","tag-kapiolani-community-college","tag-kauai-community-college","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-manoa","tag-maui-college","tag-uh-system","tag-uh-west-oahu","tag-windward-community-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209902"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":209944,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209902\/revisions\/209944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}