Hawaii is embarking on a major upgrade of its digital infrastructure, intended to make the Aloha State more competitive as a digital hub, according to Garret Yoshimi, VP for Information Technology and CIO of the University of Hawaii.

"This is a really big investment for the state," Yoshimi tells Cool Vector. "It's public funds going into this space, really intending to lift all boats in terms of infrastructure."

The University of Hawaii's role in this build-out is to leverage its deep research and education partnerships to position the state as a regional hub, making resilient, multi-path connectivity to AI data centers and global markets an urgent priority.

Among the takeaways from this interview, conducted on the sidelines of the 2026 Pacific Telecommunications Council event in Honolulu.

• Hawaii is undertaking a major federally funded inter-island submarine cable replacement project to ensure global connectivity and enable future transpacific cable landings critical to the state's economic and institutional future. The $120 million Hawaiian Islands Fiber Link (HIFL), a public-private partnership between UH and Ocean Networks, will span 24 fiber pairs across six islands and is expected to be ready for service by late 2026 — with the broader state broadband initiative, Connect Kākou, receiving an additional $149M BEAD federal award announced at PTC in January 2026. University of HawaiiHawaii News Now.

• UH's Board of Regents approved a long-term ground lease with Google in 2024 to host cable landing stations on the UH West Oahu campus, a deal years in the making that positions the university as a literal landing point for transpacific infrastructure rather than just a policy voice.

Access the transcript and a searchable content archive at the Cool Vector Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/coolvector/p/in-hawaii-digital-infrastructure?r=4tjd55&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

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In Hawaii, Digital Infrastructure is a Public-Private Mandate

Cool Vector

In Hawaii, Digital Infrastructure is a Public-Private Mandate