Hawaii Inter-Island Cable System (HICS)

Overview

The Hawaii Inter-Island Cable System (HICS) is a domestic submarine cable system operating entirely within the United States, connecting multiple islands across the Hawaiian archipelago. With a total length of 479 km, it serves the intra-island corridor of Hawaii, linking five landing points across four islands.

Route and Landings

All landings are located within the state of Hawaii, United States. The cable comes ashore at five points: Kawaihae on the island of Hawaiʻi, Kihei on Maui, Ko Olina and Koko Head on Oʻahu, and Lihue on Kauaʻi. These landings span the main islands of the Hawaiian chain, providing inter-island connectivity across the state.

Ownership and Operators

HICS is owned by Hawaiian Telcom, the primary incumbent telecommunications carrier serving the state of Hawaii. As a single-owner system, the cable operates under Hawaiian Telcom's network infrastructure portfolio.

Status and Timeline

HICS entered service in 1994 and has been operational for approximately 32 years. It is one of the earlier submarine cable systems to land in the United States, where the first such cable became operational in 1992.

Regional Context

HICS occupies a distinct position among submarine cables touching the United States. At 479 km, it is shorter than the vast majority of cables in this corridor — longer than only 7% of the other cables landing in the same country — reflecting its purpose as a short-haul, intra-state system rather than a long-distance international link. The cables that share the same U.S. landing country are predominantly intercontinental systems: Project Waterworth spans 50,000 km, the Southern Cross Cable Network (SCCN) extends 30,500 km, and South America-1 reaches 25,000 km. GlobeNet at 23,500 km and the Asia-America Gateway Cable System at 20,000 km similarly operate at intercontinental scale. HICS serves a fundamentally different function, connecting islands within a single U.S. state rather than bridging ocean basins.

Strategic Role

By linking Oʻahu, Maui, the island of Hawaiʻi, and Kauaʻi through five landing points, HICS provides the physical submarine infrastructure that supports inter-island telecommunications within Hawaii. Its 479 km route addresses the geographic reality of an island state where terrestrial connections between major population centers are not possible, enabling communications continuity across the archipelago under the operation of a single carrier.