Hawaii Wire

Hawaiian Telcom parent brings IT consulting brand to islands

Mon, 20 Jan 2020 08:49:13 -1000

Hawaiian Telcom’s parent company, Cincinnati Bell, is deploying its CBTS consulting company in the Aloha State. Hawaiian Telcom Senior Vice President Kevin Paul will lead the new CBTS office in Hawaii.

CBTS already serves over 3,000 IT clients across the country, delivering enterprise-class communications, cloud, infrastructure, and consulting services. Like Hawaiian Telcom, CBTS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cincinnati Bell.

CBTS has more than 1,800 employees nationwide, including 800 certified engineers. Its technology partners include Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dell EMC, and IBM. As part of this new office, some Hawaiian Telcom employees have become CBTS employees, Hawaiian Telcom spokesperson Ann Nishida Fry tells HawaiiTech.com.

Kevin Paul

“I am excited to lead this new initiative that will leverage Hawaiian Telcom’s fiber network and bring CBTS’ cutting-edge IT solutions to enterprise organizations across Hawaii,” Paul said in a statement. “CBTS offers the agility, flexibility, and customer focus of a smaller company, coupled with the ability to deliver the resource scale and capabilities required by large organizations.”

Joining forces with CBTS enables Hawaiian Telcom to tap into the depth and breadth of CBTS’ experience while leveraging its established relationships and reputation as a trusted technology expert in Hawaii. Hawaiian Telcom’s sales team, led by Jason Fujita, Vice President of Sales, will work closely with the CBTS Hawaii team and continue to serve local businesses.

“CBTS’ scale and experience enhance our ability to serve our business customers,” said Fujita. “Early collaborations have resulted in transformative projects such as modernizing corporate IT and cybersecurity, which strengthen our role as ‘Hawaii’s Technology Leader.'”

“CBTS looks forward to helping enterprise organizations in Hawaii drive business outcomes through our cloud, communications, infrastructure, and consulting solutions,” CBTS Chief Operating Officer Jeff Lackey said. “Like our colleagues at Hawaiian Telcom, CBTS is committed to delivering clients with an outstanding customer experience. We are delighted to partner with Hawaiian Telcom, and to have Kevin Paul, who is engaged in the local business community, leading this effort.”

To learn more about the CBTS launch in Hawaii, please visit hawaiiantel.com/cbts.

About CBTS

CBTS serves enterprise and midmarket clients in all industries across the United States and Canada. From Unified Communications to Cloud Services and beyond, CBTS combines deep technical expertise with a full suite of flexible technology solutions that drive business outcomes, improve operational efficiency, mitigate risk, and reduce costs for its clients. For more information, please visit www.cbts.com.

About Hawaiian Telcom

Hawaiian Telcom, established and headquartered in Honolulu since 1883, offers a full range of services to business and residential customers including Internet, video, voice, wireless, data network solutions and security, colocation, and managed and cloud services – all supported by the reach and reliability of its next generation fiber network and 24/7 state-of-the-art network operations center. With employees statewide sharing a commitment to innovation and a passion for delivering superior service, Hawaiian Telcom is proud to be Hawaii’s Technology Leader. For more information, visit hawaiiantel.com.

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Solar power capacity jumped 21 percent last year

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 10:26:13 -1000

The completion of large grid-scale projects and thousands of residential solar systems provided the largest-ever annual increase in solar capacity on Hawaiian Electric’s five island systems.

The utility reported today that total solar capacity surged 21 percent, increasing from 745 cumulative installed megawatts in 2018 to 902 megawatts at the end of 2019. It was the largest one-year increase since the company began tracking solar capacity in 2005. There are now an estimated 3.5 million solar panels producing electricity on the company’s five grids.

In addition, nearly 3,500 new systems across Oahu, Hawaii Island and Maui County were completed, supporting the company’s drive to reach the state’s next milestone of 30 percent renewable energy by the end of 2020.

Installation of residential rooftop solar systems used by Hawaiian Electric customers increased 4.6 percent in 2019 from 2018, and Hawaii continues to lead the nation in rooftop solar adoption.

Year-end figures show that 19 percent of residential customers in Hawaiian Electric’s five-island service territory are using rooftop solar, up from 18 percent in 2018.

Hawaii’s percentage of residential customers with rooftop solar is more than double that of California, which is second at 6.6 percent; Arizona is third at 5.5 percent; Rhode Island and Guam, both fourth at 4 percent; and Utah at 3.6 percent, according to an analysis of 2018 data by the Smart Electric Power Alliance.

Residential rooftop solar systems installed on Oahu, Hawaii Island, Maui, Molokai and Lanai rose to 77,801 in 2019 from 74,331 in 2018, up 4.6 percent.

Residential systems 2018 2019
Oahu 53,222 19% 20%
Maui County 11,956 19% 19%
Hawaii Island 12,623 16% 17%
Consolidated 77,801 18% 19%

Including commercial and grid-scale units, there are now 81,783 solar systems online, capable of producing 902 megawatts.

“The numbers show the adoption of residential rooftop solar remains strong, increasing year after year across all of our islands,” said Shelee Kimura, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president of customer service. “Rooftop solar is a critical piece of the renewable mix, and our plans call for tripling the amount already installed to help move the state toward a clean energy future.”

On Oahu, 37 percent of single-family homes now have rooftop solar; on Hawaii Island, 21 percent; in Maui County, 27 percent.

In addition, three solar arrays built by Clearway Energy Group totaling 110 megawatts and Hawaiian Electric’s West Loch solar array producing 20 megawatts came online on Oahu in 2019.

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UH scientist says Venus may be volcanically active

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 17:13:25 -1000

A University of Hawaii at Mānoa planetary scientistco-authored a study published this week in Science Advances that shows lava flows on Venus may be only a few years old, suggesting that Venus could be volcanically active today—making it the only planet in our solar system, other than Earth, with recent eruptions.

David Trang of UH Mānoa conducted the study with Justin Filiberto, the study’s lead author and Universities Space Research Association (USRA) staff scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute.

“If Venus is indeed active today, it would make a great place to visit to better understand the interiors of planets,” said Filiberto. “For example, we could study how planets cool and why the Earth and Venus have active volcanism, but Mars does not. Future missions should be able to see these flows and changes in the surface and provide concrete evidence of its activity.”

Radar imaging from NASA’s Magellan spacecraft in the early 1990s revealed Venus, Earth’s neighboring planet, to be a world of volcanoes and extensive lava flows. In the 2000s, the European Space Agency’s Venus Express orbiter shed new light on volcanism on Venus by measuring the amount of infrared light emitted from part of Venus’ surface during its nighttime. These new data allowed scientists to identify fresh versus altered lava flows on the surface of Venus. However, until recently, the ages of lava eruptions and volcanoes on Venus were not well known because the alteration rate of fresh lava was not well identified.

Trang, a researcher in the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology’s Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, Filiberto and co-authors, recreated Venus’ hot caustic atmosphere in the laboratory to investigate how the observed Venusian minerals react and change over time. Their experimental results showed that once erupted onto the surface, an abundant mineral in basalt—olivine—reacts rapidly with the atmosphere and within weeks becomes coated with the iron oxide minerals magnetite and hematite.

Trang’s efforts included comparing laboratory results to the results from spacecraft data. They further found that the Venus Express observations of this change in mineralogy would only take a few years to occur. Thus, the new results by Filiberto and coauthors suggest that these lava flows on Venus are very young, which implies that Venus does indeed have active volcanoes.

“It has been decades since the last space mission to explore the surface of Venus and hopefully our findings will persuade the community that we need to go back to further investigate our dynamic neighbor,” said Trang.

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Gallery: Grow with Google in Kaimuki

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 15:40:44 -1000

Visiting Google presenters and coaches hosted free ‘Grow with Google’ workshops today at Kaimuki Public Library, with onsite instruction provided to local jobseekers, small business, and nonprofit leaders on integral digital skills necessary in today’s business environment. Grow with Google is the tech company’s initiative to help create economic opportunities for all Americans.

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<h1>San Francisco firm takes majority stake in DR Fortress</h1>
<p>Thu, 16 Jan 2020 11:16:20 -1000</p>
<p>GI Partners, a leading private investment firm, today announced the acquisition of a majority interest in DR Fortress, LLC, in partnership with the company’s management team, including President Fred Rodi and CFO Rosa White, both co-founders.</p>

<p>Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Honolulu, HI, DR Fortress is Hawaii’s largest data center operator, providing mission critical services in support of the Hawaii economy and trans-Pacific data networks. DR Fortress offers carrier-neutral connectivity, colocation, and related data center services. DR Fortress houses the densest concentration of IP carriers and is the only commercial internet exchange hub in Hawaii.</p>

<p>GI Partners’ investment will help DR Fortress accelerate growth and increase resiliency, while maintaining the company’s focus on excellent service quality and local engagement.</p>

<p>“Our partnership with the GI’s data infrastructure team will greatly accelerate the timeline to help us make Hawaii a major digital hub in the Pacific,” said DR Fortress President Fred Rodi. “We are working on multiple projects that will support the development of the technology economy in Hawaii, as well as the broader Pacific region.”</p>

<p>“DR Fortress provides truly essential infrastructure for the State of Hawaii, which is a unique IT ecosystem,” said Mark Prybutok, Managing Director of GI Data Infrastructure.</p>

<p>“We have an exciting opportunity, in partnership with Fred and Rosa and their team, to continue delivering world-class service to businesses serving Hawaii, and expand relationships with the largest and most important global cloud and content providers,” said Steve Smith, Managing Director of GI Data Infrastructure.</p>

<p>Paul Hastings LLP acted as legal counsel to GI Partners. Layer 7 Capital provided financial advice, and McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon LLP provided legal advice to DR Fortress.</p>

<p><strong>About DR Fortress</strong></p>

<p>DR Fortress is the largest carrier-neutral data center and cloud services provider operating in Hawaii. The company assists both international and local companies with maintaining and securing their mission-critical IT systems. For more information, please visit <a href=

Hawaiian Telcom adds YouTube TV to streaming options

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 08:32:38 -1000

Hawaiian Telcom has announced a new partnership with YouTube TV that will provide its customers an additional streaming content solution that will further take advantage of Hawaiian Telcom’s expanding fiber network in Hawaii.

YouTube TV offers cable-free live TV that can be watched on any screen (phone, tablet, TV, computer) and includes KITV (ABC), KGMB (CBS), KHON (FOX), KHNL (NBC), ESPN, HGTV and TNT. The service also carries over 70 additional networks such as Food Network, TBS, CNN, ESPN, FX and on-demand programming.

“Hawaiian Telcom is pleased to offer our customers YouTube TV and give them another option to access content whether they are at home using our high-speed Internet, or on the go using a cellular connection or Wi-Fi network,” said Filifotu Vaai, Director of Product Strategy. “This partnership will further simplify the decision-making process for many of our customers who want flexible, innovative, and cost-efficient content platforms.”

A YouTube TV membership includes six accounts per household, each with its own unique recommendations and personal DVR with no storage space limits.

The company says that as of the third quarter of 2019, its fiber network is available to approximately 50 percent of the consumer and small business market in Hawaii, including over 170,000 fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) addresses.

Hawaiian Telcom customers can find more information about YouTube TV by clicking this link.

About Hawaiian Telcom

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Local accelerator Mana Up gets Waikīkī retail space

Tue, 14 Jan 2020 14:41:31 -1000

Hawaii visitors and residents alike will be able to shop for unique made-in-Hawaii products at “House of Mana Up,” a special extended pop-up store in the Royal Hawaiian Center.

Founded in 2017, Mana Up hosts a 12-week intensive accelerator program for Hawaii manufacturers, helping local entrepreneurs tackle production challenges, develop executive leadership, and uncover high-impact sales opportunities — like a shop in the heart of Waikīkī.

“This project has been in the works for quite some time, and we’re extremely proud to support the efforts of Mana Up and spotlight the entrepreneurs of Hawaii,” said Royal Hawaiian Center cultural director Monte McComber. “With our new House of Mana Up pop-up, shoppers can now get one-of-a-kind products and gifts that represent local ingenuity and feature local ingredients in new and original ways.”

The store was established through a collaboration among Mana Up, YWCA Oahu, and the Community Engagement and Resources Group of Kamehameha Schools.

House of Mana Up will features dozens of local brands that showcase Hawaii’s blend of diverse cultures and its unique sense of place, starting with Mana Up’s portfolio of local products by innovative entrepreneurs. The store will curate a rotation of brands to provide shoppers with new experiences as they browse an array of products, including health and beauty, food and beverage, art and fashion, and specially designed gift sets.

In addition, House of Mana Up will host regular events and entrepreneur meet-ups for shoppers to learn about the stories, inspirations, and connections behind the local products developed in Hawaii.

“We want visitors to House of Mana Up to feel like they’ve just walked into a local home, filled with stories and products that capture the experiences they’ve had in Hawaii,” said Meli James, co-founder of Mana Up Hawaii. “Mahalo to Royal Hawaiian Center and Kamehameha Schools for investing and believing in our local talent and creating this opportunity for guests and locals to learn from our community and support local entrepreneurship.”

The shop will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday, January 25, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The first 150 attendees will receive 2-hours of validated parking and shoppers will get a free Mana Up tote with purchases of $125 or more. Complimentary Hawaiian coffee will also be served at the shop’s Nitro Spot.

Through the partnership with Kamehameha Schools, House of Mana Up also offers internships to students in various disciplines, such as design, marketing, and entrepreneurship, to create career pathways and networking opportunities.

To learn more about Mana Up Hawaii, visit their website at manauphawaii.com.

For more information on the House of Mana Up, visit www.RoyalHawaiianCenter.com or call Helumoa Hale Guest Services at (808) 922-2299.

About Royal Hawaiian Center

Royal Hawaiian Center is the premier shopping, dining, entertainment, and cultural destination in Waikīkī, comprised of 110 shops and restaurants over three city-blocks of world-renowned Kalākaua Avenue. The Center stands proudly upon historic land known as Helumoa, once home to Hawaiian royalty. Hawaiian culture is celebrated every day at the Center with a variety of complimentary cultural lessons such as hula, lauhala weaving, lei-making, ʻukulele classes, and live entertainment featuring Hawaiian music and hula performances.

Royal Hawaiian Center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and offers free validated parking for the first two hours with a minimum $10 purchase and only $2 per hour for the 3rd and 4th hours. Standard rates apply at $6 an hour thereafter. For more information, visit www.RoyalHawaiianCenter.com

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UH scientists propose new tools to understand, predict large earthquakes

Mon, 13 Jan 2020 08:46:09 -1000

Earth scientists from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa say they have uncovered a new piece of the puzzle that may aid scientists in determining when and where the next destructive earthquake will occur.

The team, led by Jonathan Weiss, an alumni of the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), probed the Earth’s structure beneath a portion of the southern Andes. They recently co-authored a study in Science Advances that investigated the characteristic surface motion that occurs in the weeks to months to years after very large earthquakes, combining Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements with a new numerical modeling method.

The GPS instruments are similar to but much more precise than those in mobile phones or automobile satellite navigation systems.

Weiss, SOEST researcher James Foster, graduate student Jonathan Avery, and international colleagues used a network consisting of hundreds of permanent GPS stations installed across South America—from the Chilean coastline in the west to the rainforests of Brazil in the east—to measure horizontal and vertical ground motions as small as a few millimeters per year. Studying these motions can reveal detailed information about numerous processes ranging from the forces responsible for mountain building over long timescales, the short-term behavior of rocks in response to large, earthquake-induced changes in stress, and even seasonal cycles of rainfall in the Amazon basin.

Chilean earthquake provides opportunity for investigation

The team analyzed continuously recorded GPS data from after the 2010 magnitude 8.8 Maule earthquake in Chile, which was the largest event to occur in that region in 50 years, using a novel geophysical data inversion technique. Their modeling approach used surface motion measurements from GPS data to reveal details of the physical properties of the rock in the crust and mantle, and how it responded to the stresses generated by the earthquake.

The newly published results of their study confirm that the combination of a dense network of GPS sites with the new inversion algorithm can significantly increase our knowledge of subduction zone and deep crustal and upper mantle structure, which ultimately controls the distribution and frequency of large earthquakes and volcanic activity.

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Gallery: Kauai Ocean Discovery Center Opening

Sat, 11 Jan 2020 18:03:27 -1000