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Verizon Communications, parent of the state's largest telephone company, today said it will spend $650 million over the next five years to improve its wireless network and international telecommunications connections in Hawaii. Verizon plans
to invest $650 mil
in isle upgradeBy Tim Ruel
Star-Bulletin
Most of the investment will go into fiber-optics, high-speed Internet connections, digital capacity and intelligent electronics, company President and co-CEO Ivan Seidenberg told the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii this morning in a speech.
Verizon Hawaii Inc., formerly GTE Hawaiian Tel, is also planning to roll out several new products involving wireless and high-speed Internet connections, said Seidenberg, who led efforts last year to form Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest cellular business.
"This will be key to Hawaii's economic future as you "dot-com' your own businesses and diversify beyond your core tourism-based economy by attracting a wider array of multimedia, biotech and e-commerce businesses," he said.
Calling Hawaii residents among the most "wired" people in the country, Seidenberg said 70 percent of Hawaii citizens have personal computers and 65 percent surf the Internet.
Verizon also considers Hawaii a gateway to customers in the Pacific Rim, which is expected to have 115 million people online in three years. New York-based Verizon, recently created by Bell Atlantic Corp.'s purchase of GTE Corp., serves 650,000 customers in Hawaii.
Seidenberg is in Hawaii to present a keynote speech at Intelevent 2000, a global telecommunications conference scheduled for Sunday through Wednesday in Kapalua, Maui.