Telecommunication Architecture Rules!
Section One
:: Homepage
:: How to use Website
:: About Website
Section Two
:: HI Telecom.
:: Social/Cultural Elements
:: Models
Section Three
:: Resources
HAWAII TELECOMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECTURE



For many years Hawaii has had a policy to diversify from tourism, encourage more trade, more electronic networks, and more connections with the outside world. The need for diversification led the Hawaii information industry to develop numerous telecommunication projects. The telecommunication efforts encouraged a homegrown information industry as well as to provide a network that would encourage grass roots participation in electronic discussions. Now, Hawaii is a telecommunications hub for much of the Pacific Ocean.
  • Background on all spheres, structural shifts, direction for the future.
  • In creating this website, we have chosen to focus our attention to the social/cultural ICT architectures of Hawaii, and have gone into detail in describing this sphere in the social/cultural elements section of this website. This section of the website describes in general what we believe the attributes of the other four architectural spheres are in relation to Hawaii, as well as what we believe their possible directions for the future may be.
ECONOMIC ARCHITECTURE:
  • Spending money on ICT developments in Hawaii currently takes a backseat to the 60 million dollars per year that Hawaii spends on promoting tourism.
  • Since the late 1990s, several tax incentives such as Act 221 have been passed in attempts to promote ICT developments among local businesses. Organizations such as the DBEDT and HTDC are also striving to promote these developments in Hawaii.
  • The future: The need to diversify Hawaii's economy is an opinion shared by many and has been expressed in a recent survey of Hawaii's residents. Promoting our state's technological offerings through our already established tourism industry (techno-tourism) may serve as a way to achieve this diversification. We suspect that the general needs of the people to become acquainted with new technological developments may also accelerate the changes toward becoming a more technologically "smart" environment.
POLITICAL ARCHITECTURE:
  • The Public Utilities Commission have regulatory jurisdiction over Hawaii's telecommunication services, and hold the power to assign taxes, approver mergers and consolidations, and prescribe fees. Local telecommunication companies must seek permission from the Public Utilities Commission to make changes to their rates or services.
  • Hawaii's telecommunications consumers are currently represented by the Division of Consumer Advocacy (DCA). The DCA is a state agency that works to protect and present consumer interests before the PUC, and attempts to keep consumer rates low while ensuring adequate service.
  • The future: Significant changes are anticipated to be made to telecommunications operations throughout the United States with the rewrite of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The revision must take into consideration the new telecommunication developments such as Voice over Internet Protocol, and high speed and wireless Internet connections. For Hawaii, we hope that the rewrite may set forth regulations that will increase our carrier selection and increase standards.
ENVIRONMENTAL ARCHITECTURE
  • Hawaii's geographical location serves as a communication bridge between Asia and the mainland U.S. Due to advanced technologies, the space and time gap between Hawaii and the mainland U.S. as well as Hawaii and other countries has become much less significant than it was in the past. Video conferencing over the Internet and other distance learning technologies allow for us to communicate with individuals around the globe with little regard to space and time.
  • The future: New technological developments will continue to minimize the issues of space and time between Hawaii and other states and countries. The increase in speed, security, and networking capabilities as outlined in the premises of upcoming technologies such as Internet2 should provide us with incredible communication abilities.
TECHNICAL ARCHITECTURE
  • Hawaii holds six undersea fiber optic transpacific cables, providing 1.6 million voice equivalent circuits between Hawaii, the mainland U.S., and Asia. Hawaii's trans-pacific fiber optic and satellite connectivity allows us to stay connected internationally and with the mainland.
  • The future:Technological innovations constatly pressuring rewrite of U.S. communications law. As we speak, revisions to the 1996 Act are pending in Congress. Also, current business perspectives have alterend the technology industry. There are uncertainties about changing technologies and are pending telcom reforms. Some issues need to be addressed for the future: When and how will IP telephony be regulated by the FCC? How wil Universal Service commitments be funded? And, How will Internet price models change?
HAWAII TELECOMMUNICATION LINKS