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Comprising eight major islands—six of which form its primary commercial and residential core (Oahu, Hawaii Island, Maui, Kauai, Molokai, and Lanai)—the Hawaiian archipelago occupies a pivotal mid-oceanic position roughly 2,400 miles (3,800 km) off the U.S. mainland. Situated at the crossroads of the Pacific, Hawaii serves as an indispensable transpacific digital gateway, functioning as a mid-ocean switching and regeneration hub for submarine cable systems bridging North America, East Asia, Australia, and Oceania.
Hawaii's digital communications relies on a dual-layered subsea ecosystem: high-capacity international transpacific corridors connecting Oahu and Hawaii to global markets, and an inter-island distribution backbone linking the major islands across the archipelago.
While Oahu is the primary transpacific hub, most of the international subsea cables landing in Hawaii terminate on the western and southern shores of Oahu, the Big Island (Hawaii Island) hosts two major international subsea systems at the Spencer Beach / Kawaihae landing complex, establishing geographical diversity across the archipelago.
| Island | Landing Station | Cable System |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii Island (Big Island) | Spencer Beach CLS | Southern Cross (SCCN) |
| Kawaihae CLS | Honotua | |
| Oahu | Kahe Point CLS | Southern Cross (NEXT) |
| Kapolei CLS | Hawaiki Cable | |
| Makaha CLS | SEA-US | |
| Keawaula CLS | Asia-America Gateway (AAG) | |
| Keawaula CLS | Telstra Endeavour | |
| UH West Oahu CLS | Taihei & Tabua (Google) |
Google has secured a long-term ground lease on the University Hawaii (UH) West Oʻahu campus to design, build, and operate a multi-acre, carrier-neutral cable landing station complex. This facility houses Google’s transpacific Pacific Connect cables (including Taihei and Tabua), as well as the Hawaiian Islands Fiber Link (HIFL)
Inter-island subsea infrastructure distributes capacity from Oahu to Kauai, Maui, Hawaii Island (Big Island), Molokai, and Lanai.
Hawaiian Telcom currently owns and operates all three legacy inter-island systems, all of which are approaching or past their standard 25-year operational design lifespan:
RFS: July 1994 (32 years old)
Length: ~480 km
Route: Oahu (Ko Olina/Koko Head), Kauai (Lihue), Maui (Kihei), and Hawaii Island (Kawaihae). First modern SONET inter-island system.
Background: Built during the GTE Hawaiian Tel era, HICS was constructed with an initial SONET design capacity of 2.5 Gbps per pair. It was Hawaiian Telcom's first modern inter-island fiber architecture and is past its end-of-life projection.
RFS: 1996 (30 years old)
Length: ~530–640 km
Route: 6-island ring connecting Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Hawaii Island, Molokai, and Lanai.
Background: Licensed in 1996 to expand bandwidth and add direct fiber paths to Molokai and Lanai. Hawaiian Telcom applied to renew its FCC cable landing license for an additional 25-year period in 2022 to maintain commercial operations while new routes are constructed.
RFS: 2009 / 2010 (17 years old)
Length: ~375 km
Route: Links 6 main islands, Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Hawaii Island.
Background: Originally built by the Paniolo Cable Company (associated with Waimana Enterprises / Sandwich Isles Communications). Hawaiian Telcom acquired the subsea and terrestrial assets out of bankruptcy in August 2021 for $50 million. Although it is the youngest of the three networks, state officials note that historical maintenance neglect during bankruptcy proceedings reduced its long-term reliability.
State initiatives and private carriers are deploying high-density replacement systems under the state's Connect Kākou digital equity program:
A $120M–$140M open-access, carrier-neutral system developed via a PPP between the University of Hawaii and Ocean Networks Inc. Features a 24-fiber-pair system (~740 km) connecting landing sites across Oahu, Hawaii Island, Maui, Kauai, Molokai, and Lanai.
Hawaiian Telcom’s self-funded $87M build (supported by a $37M NTIA grant). Deploying a high-capacity repeaterless route to construct a redundant northern inter-island subsea ring to complement existing southern paths.
Part of Google’s $1B North Pacific Connect initiative, constructing a regional interlink landing at the new UH West Oahu CLS to interconnect international transpacific trunks directly with domestic inter-island backhaul.
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