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formidable challenge than that faced by most states on the U.S. continent. Hawaii is reliant upon often costly transpacific and interisland submarine fiber connectivity, and intra -island solutions suitable for the mountainous and rugged volcanic terrain of our islands. To identify and address the State's broadband infrastructure hurdles, the separate segments of physical infrastructure required, and the different technologies used to provide connection in each, must be understood. This section first describes the broadband systems used to provide most consumer Internet access in the State, provides an overview of the four distinct segments of physical infrastructure required for connectivity: (1) transpacific; (2) interisland; (3) intra -island; and (4) "last mile." It includes the technologies used in each of the four segments, the current state of technology, and the primary benefits and limitations of each in Hawaii at this time. Although this Strategic Plan acknowledges the continuing, rapid advancements in technology, it must address the infrastructure gaps and challenges, for the most part, based upon the known current state of the technologies as discussed below. Broadband Systems Overview Several different types of technology systems are used to provide most consumer Internet access in the State. With the exception of satellite, these systems or their underlying technology are often used in combination to provide broadband services to consumers in Hawaii. At a minimum, these systems almost always connect at some point to a fiber -based system that forms the "backbone" of a network and/or to fiber optic cables that transport data out of the State. For this reason, as well as those noted below under Wireless Technologies, this Plan assesses broadband deployment and adoption of fixed terrestrial broadband (cable, DSL, fiber and microwave). Wireline Technologies Coaxial/DOCSIS. A cable broadband system operates utilizing cable television infrastructure. In Hawaii, cable system serves almost 400,000 cable television subscribers statewide. A limitation of this system is that it carries less bandwidth than fiber. However, evolving technologies to address bandwidth limitations continue to allow cable operators to deploy higher data speeds over existing cable networks. * xDSL System. A Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) system operates using wireline copper 9".