In another sign of the changes transforming Hawaii's telecom industry, GST Telecommunications Inc. on Thursday said it will establish a state-of-the-art fiber-optic cable network linking the state's six main islands by year's end.
The undersea network will significantly boost GST's ability to compete head-to-head with GTE Hawaiian Tel for customers needing high-speed data transmissions between the islands.
Hawaiian Tel has been serving Oahu, Maui, the Big Island and Kauai with an interisland fiber-optic system since mid-1994. GST's network will cover those islands plus Lanai and Molokai.
GST wants the system in place so it eventually can offer a full menu of telecom services to households and businesses. GST's application to offer local phone service is pending with the Public Utilities Commission.
The company, through its GST Pacwest Telecom Hawaii subsidiary, already offers point-to-point interisland service - mainly to businesses - via a microwave system.
GST on Thursday signed a contract with AT&T Submarine Systems Inc. for the laying of roughly 300 miles of cable between the islands.
John Warta, GST president, said his company intends to spend $39 million this year and $10 million to $15 million next year on the network.
The added choice for Hawaii customers should lead to lower rates, Warta said.
Gov. Ben Cayetano was at Honolulu Harbor yesterday to witness the contract signing next to the docked CS Long Lines, the largest cable-laying vessel in the world. The 511-foot AT&T ship will be used to set up GST's network.
Cayetano noted that the project is only the latest in a flurry of Hawaii telecom investments. Local banks have financed $2 billion in projects, he said.
"We're seeing an explosion literally of telecom here in Hawaii," Cayetano said.