HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-02 Hawaiian Telcom Testimony
From: Jeannine Souki
To: Planning WPC Testimony
Subject: Hawaiian Telcom Testimony - Agenda Item #7
Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2026 8:35:51 AM
Attachments: image001.png
HT Testimony Bill 170, Windward Planning Commission 20260903.pdf
Aloha WPC – please find my attached testimony for tomorrow’s meeting on agenda Item
#7 – relating to Council Bill 170.
I also plan to deliver testimony via Zoom. Please reach out to me with any questions.
My best,
Jeannine Souki
Senior Manager, Government & Regulatory Affairs
808-352-2862
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WriƩen Statement of
Jeannine Souki,
Senior Manager – Government & Regulatory Affairs
COUNTY OF HAWAII
WINDWARD PLANING COMMISSION
September 3, 2026, 9 AM
Hawaii County Council Chambers in Hilo
25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, HI 96720
TransmiƩed via Email
RE: Agenda Item #7: County Council IniƟated Bill 170 (PL-CCI-2026-000018) – RELATING TO ZONING
FOR DATA CENTERS
Aloha Chair and Members of the Windward Planning Commission:
Hawaiian Telcom appreciates the opportunity to provide tesƟmony on Bill 170, relaƟng to zoning for data
centers, which is before the Windward Planning Commission for review and recommendaƟon.
Hawaiian Telcom has served Hawaiʻi for 143 years and is Hawaiʻi's only provider of 100% fiber internet
service. The company is invesƟng approximately $1.7 billion to make Hawaiʻi the first fully fiber-enabled
state in the naƟon. Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kauaʻi, and Maui have already been fully fiber-enabled, and Hawaiʻi
Island and Oʻahu are expected to be fully fiber-enabled in 2027. As an operator of criƟcal
communicaƟons infrastructure throughout Hawaiʻi County and the state, Hawaiian Telcom has a strong
interest in ensuring that land use regulaƟons appropriately consider telecommunicaƟons faciliƟes and
broadband deployment projects.
Modern telecommunicaƟons networks rely on faciliƟes such as central offices, network aggregaƟon sites,
and internet exchange faciliƟes that support broadband, voice, enterprise, and public safety services.
Although these faciliƟes may share certain characterisƟcs with data centers, their primary funcƟon is to
provide communicaƟons services.
AddiƟonally, the Commission should consider whether the proposed definiƟon of "data center" could
unintenƟonally encompass telecommunicaƟons faciliƟes and other operaƟonal faciliƟes, such as banks,
schools, and government agencies, that contain servers, networking equipment, and data processing
systems but are not commonly understood to be data centers. Adding an exempƟon for
telecommunicaƟons faciliƟes and communicaƟons network infrastructure with clarifying language may
help ensure the ordinance is applied as intended.
For example, the Commission may wish to consider adding language such as:
"Data center" means a facility primarily dedicated to the commercial storage, processing,
management, or disseminaƟon of digital informaƟon and does not include telecommunicaƟons
faciliƟes, communicaƟons network infrastructure, central offices, switching faciliƟes, internet
exchange faciliƟes, public safety communicaƟons faciliƟes, or faciliƟes where data processing
equipment is incidental to the property's primary use.
Hawaiian Telcom appreciates the Commission's consideraƟon of this issue and supports thoughƞul
planning for future data center development in Hawaiʻi County. Clarifying the definiƟon will help ensure
the ordinance is implemented as intended while providing greater certainty regarding its applicaƟon.
Mahalo for the opportunity to provide tesƟmony. We look forward to conƟnuing to work with the
Windward Planning Commission, Planning Department, County Council, and other stakeholders as this
measure moves forward.
My best,
Jeannine Souki
Government & Regulatory Affairs
Hawaiian Telcom
jeannine.souki@hawaiiantel.com