Hawaii to Use its Entire Capital Projects Fund Allotment for Broadband

The U.S. Treasury has awarded $115.5 million in funding from the Capital Projects Fund (CPF) to Hawaii for broadband. The funding represents the state’s full allotment in the program.

The state plans to use $101.7 million of the funding for a Hawaii Subsea Middle Mile Program to support high speed internet for the islands. The state also will invest $8 million in the Hawaii Public Housing Authority (HPHA) Connections Program, which will provide residents with access to high speed Internet.

Awards in the $10 billion program began last June. Forty states have been approved for more than $6 billion, according to a U.S. Treasury press release about the Hawaii Capital Projects Fund news. Funding awarded so far will reach more 1.75 million locations.

There has been a steady stream of announcements in the CPF program, including at least two in March:

• Late in the month, New York said it would use $100 million of its CPF allotment for the state’s Affording Housing Connectivity Program. The recipient organization funds high speed broadband to and within low income housing units. The program – which will serve about 6% of locations in the state lacking high speed Internet — represents 29% of the state’s CPF allocation.
• About two weeks earlier, Treasury approved $185 million in funding for South Carolina, which represents the state’s full CPF allotment. The funding will go to the Next Greatest Thing – Main Street South Carolina (MAIN ST) program. The funding will bring broadband to more than 31,000 unserved and underserved homes and businesses in the state. That is about 23% of locations that lack high speed access.

The $10 billion CPF is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, which was passed in 2021 to help the country deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many governments use parts of their State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) to complement their CPF allotment.

Under terms of the CPF program, network operators receiving funding for buildouts must participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides discounts of $30 per month toward broadband to eligible applications. The discount is $75 per month on Tribal lands.