Please join us at the CIS 720 seminar from 4:30-5:30pm on Monday, 11/01, as we welcome a panel of distinguished guests who will speak about “Indigenous Broadband: Case Study of a Connectivity Project in Pu‘uhonua o Waimānalo, Hawai’i”.
Panel: Rob McMahon, Brandon Makaawaawa, Wayne Buente and Heather Hudson
The islands of Hawaiʻi have always served as vibrant communication hubs – long before European settlers arrived, Kānaka Maoli (Indigenous people of Hawai‘i) exchanged information and connected over distances. King Kalākaua had telephones installed in ʻIolani Palace several years before the White House. Today, these activities continue as communities are deploying telecommunications as a component of nation-building, and to address access and affordability divides that persist in the islands (Winter, Buente & Buskirk, 2014).
Our panel focuses on a participatory model that extends broadband to Indigenous Nations and communities – involving community members to install, operate and utilize broadband equipment and services, using low cost fixed wireless broadband equipment. The panel will present a case study of a local broadband network in Pu‘uhonua o Waimānalo on Oahu. The case study will highlight preliminary results of the community household survey, stakeholder interviews and document analysis.