When the pandemic cast a harsh light on the digital divide in the country, the federal government committed funds to rectify that in underserved communities.
Burt Lum is head of the Hawaiʻi Broadband and Digital Equity Office, which just released a final draft of its plan to increase connectivity across the state.
The state is asking for feedback and will have a series of in-person meetings.
"What we've done over the last 9, 10 months is to actually do a whole bunch of focus groups and interviews throughout the state," Lum said.
"We wanted to give folks a chance to take a look at the plan, provide some feedback, and we have full intent of incorporating some of those comments back into the plan."
The first meeting is Friday, Oct. 13 on Oʻahu, followed by Oct. 19 on Molokaʻi and Oct. 23 on Hawaiʻi Island.
Burt Lum also hosts HPR's long-running show Bytemarks Café.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Oct. 11, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
