About 50 companies have expressed an interest in setting up Hawaii operations, and three telecommunication companies in California, Washington and New Jersey are serious enough that they've requested information on specific sites, the promoters said.

Hawaii's direct air transportation link to the Asia-Pacific region and its extensive digital communications network are two primary reasons the companies are considering the islands, said Bernice Bowers, executive director of the Oahu Economic Development Board, one of the participating organizations.

But the high cost of doing business here, especially in the regulatory arena, is a factor working against Hawaii, Bowers said.

She wouldn't identify the three companies but said they ranged from medium- to Fortune 500-sized. All have growing markets in the Asia-Pacific region and want to establish a closer link to those customers, Bowers said.

The 50 companies got a glimpse of what Hawaii has to offer during January's Pacific Telecommunications Conference in Honolulu. An eight-minute video produced by the public-private partnership debuted at the conference, sparking the inquiries.

The partnership includes GTE Hawaiian Tel, which provided $125,000 in funding, the state's High Technology Development Corp. and the economic development boards of Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island.

The three companies seriously considering Hawaii are contemplating operations ranging from about 10 to 30 workers, Bowers said, with starting salaries topping $40,000.

Other sites the companies are considering include Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area and Arizona. They expect to make decisions within the next year and a half, Bowers said.

This is the first privately funded, statewide venture to attract companies to Hawaii, she said.