Community Anchor Institutions

What is a Community Anchor Institution (CAI)?

Community Anchor Institutions (CAI) are an important alternative to having a broadband connection at home. The term “community anchor institution” means an entity that facilitates greater use of broadband service which can be:

  • School,
  • Library,
  • Health Clinic,
  • Health Center,
  • Hospital or Other Medical Provider,
  • Public Safety Entity,
  • Institution of Higher Education,
  • Public Housing Organization, or
  • Community Support Organization

CAIs can be particularly important for vulnerable populations, including, but not limited to:

  • low-income individuals,
  • unemployed individuals,
  • children,
  • the incarcerated, and
  • aged individuals

UH further defined community support organizations by the following:

  1. Whether the community support organization has physical location(s) in a permanent structure to facilitate greater use of broadband service by vulnerable populations, including Native Hawaiians and the above-mentioned populations.
  2. Whether the physical location(s) of the community support organization is dedicated to the organization’s usage for activities to facilitate greater use of broadband service by vulnerable populations (e.g. not a residential house) and as part of the organization’s mission, involves or plans to involve activities that facilitate greater use of broadband service by vulnerable populations.
  3. Whether the physical location(s) of the community support organization is public-facing in nature, meaning the organization does not require paid or unpaid membership before using its services.

Why are CAIs important in BEAD?

The BEAD program aims to connect every household, but there can be multiple reasons that this may not be enough to connect all individuals to reliable, fast speed Internet. These reasons can include but not limited to:

  • Individuals cannot afford the Internet subscription
  • Individuals are houseless
  • Individuals do not have or cannot afford appropriate device(s).

Community Anchor Institutions can fill in these gaps. People can go to their closest or most convenient CAIs to get access to broadband Internet for their needs. Since the BEAD program covers the connection of Broadband to CAIs, it is important to identify all the CAIs and make sure that they have the proper connection to provide Internet access (1Gbps upload and download speed).

How to check if a location or organization is identified as a CAI

To check whether a location or an organization is identified as a CAI, follow these steps.

  • Open the CAI List Document. This has the list of all identified CAIs.
  • The first page shows what each of the columns mean and help you navigate through the document.
  • Search for the CAI you are looking for with their organization name or address.
    • You can use Control+F to find a specific name or address.
  • Make sure to check they are the right CAI type.
Hawaii-CAI-List-v3-20240506_webDownload

If you would like to see the CAI list by county refer to the bottom of the initial proposal page.

What if the list is missing a CAI?

If you cannot find the CAI and believe that it should be added to the list, please contact your county or nonprofit organization that’s participating in the challenge process. You can find the participating entities here.

Participating Entities should contact the UH Broadband Team for missing CAIs.

What if the CAI is on the list, but has unreliable, slow Internet?

If you believe your CAI does not have fast, reliable Internet connection, please contact your county or nonprofit organization that’s participating in the challenge process. You can find the participating entities here.

Participating Entities should file the appropriate challenge for the CAIs.