HCR 297: Urging Google, inc. To Select Hawaii as a Test Site

Sent to us by HTDC CEO Yuka Nakashima:

HCR 297

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

URGING GOOGLE INC. TO SELECT HAWAII AS A TEST SITE TO CONDUCT
THE GOOGLE GIGABIT BROADBAND INITIATIVE.

HEREAS, the United States ranks thirty-eighth in the world
n broadband speed; and

HEREAS, a one gigabit, Fiber-to-the-Home broadband
technology was introduced in the town of Nuenen, Holland, in
2005, where it was enthusiastically received, with ninety percent of the town receiving installation within the first year
and eventually ninety-seven per cent; and

WHEREAS, one gigabit broadband at affordable prices has
subsequently been introduced in Europe, Japan, and Canada as
part of their internet access initiatives; and

WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu's interest in
broadband was evidenced several years ago in its Chinatown
broadband internet demonstration to improve broadband access for
the residents of Chinatown; and

WHEREAS, Google is seeking to demonstrate to current
broadband providers in the United States the revolutionary
benefits of high speed broadband to encourage the provision of
high speed broadband and to literally bring the country "up to
speed" with the rest of the modern world; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii would be the optimal test site for Google
to demonstrate the revolutionary ability of high speed internet
in addressing society's most pressing problems, if Google would
select Hawaii for conducting its Gigabit Broadband Initiative,
especially in view of Hawaii's compactness and the presence of a
broad spectrum of sectors that can utilize high speed internet;
and

HEREAS, Google can demonstrate with real-world results the
changes that high speed internet can make in problems that are
common to areas all across the country; and

HEREAS, because Hawaii's vehicular traffic has long earned
its recognition as the most congested city in the United States
according to the INRIX National Traffic Scorecard Annual Report
(2007, 2008, second in 2009), Google can demonstrate how
effectively telecommuting can alleviate traffic congestion in
major cities; and

WHEREAS, Google can reduce the State's public safety
budgetary appropriation with the availability of enhanced
electronic monitoring via high speed internet as a low-cost
alternative to incarceration for low-risk offenders, with the
result of freeing up prison beds for high-risk offenders thereby
alleviating the need for building more prisons; and

WHEREAS, having medically underserved areas on the neighbor
islands and urban medical centers on Oahu, Google can address
the important nationwide issue of how high speed broadband can
be used to teach rural doctors how to perform procedures for
which it may not be otherwise feasible to attend training for,
and to give rural doctors and patients real-time access to
specialists, resulting in giving more physicians the incentive
to serve these areas, and improving access to and quality of
care; and

WHEREAS, video streaming on high speed internet can make
available distance learning for children in rural schools as
well as increasing the opportunity for adults in rural areas to
obtain higher education; and

WHEREAS, high speed video-streaming enables continuing
education to be more available, which reduces the cost and time
for professionals who wish to keep updated on developments in
their field, an issue with Hawaii professionals who have no
choice but to fly to other states for this and incur travel
costs; and

WHEREAS, a proposed new film studio in Kapolei and the
currently thriving film and television industry in Hawaii would
benefit from high speed download that can increase their
audience; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's geography and topography mimics many
physical conditions found across the country, including snow
topped mountains; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
of 2010, the Senate concurring, that Google is urged to select
Hawaii as a test site to conduct the Google Gigabit Broadband
Initiative; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor and the mayor of
each county are urged to contact Google about the prospect of
Hawaii being selected as a test site for the Google Gigabit
Broadband Initiative; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature supports all
state, county, and community efforts to prevail upon Google to
select Hawaii as a test site for the Google Gigabit Broadband
Initiative; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairman of the
Board and Chief Executive Officer of Google Inc., the Governor,
and the Mayor of each county.

PDF - HCR 297: Urging Google, inc. To Select Hawaii as a Test Site