ATTN: The Honorable Brian Schatz

October 1, 2015
Aloha Senator Schatz,
Alongside your peers on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, you
recently addressed the future of the information economy. As business leaders in Hawaii,
particularly from the states growing technology sector, we are writing to applaud your continued
leadership in overseeing and crafting technology and communications policies as the Internet
reshapes communications, our economy, and so many other industries including health care
and education, both here and on the mainland.
Wireless spectrum is a key limited resource feeding the future of innovation, and as its control is
in the hands of the federal government, we're asking you to make its swift and efficient
reallocation a priority.
The Internet has gone from novel to ubiquitous in the past 20 years, helping create global
powerhouses like Facebook, Google, and Uber. However, issues certainly remain in connecting
many U.S. citizens to the Internet and ensuring adequate market competition, and we here in
Hawaii have felt that more profoundly than most Americans.
In recent years, to the benefit of more remote parts of the country, wireless technology has
helped scores of consumers and businesses get online. According to a 2015 study from Pew
Research Center, nearly two-thirds of American adults own a smartphone, ten percent of which
use that phone as a primary means to go online. Smartphone-dependent users are most
commonly found among minorities and lower-income Americans. The wireless boon can be felt
most profoundly in the smart-energy and telehealth industries, the latter of which is critical for
Hawaii residents.
The entire wireless environment depends on a finite resource in high demand known as
spectrum. Reports indicate that wireless networks are increasingly spread too thin, and that
without bringing more of these invisible airwaves to the private market, the new normal of the
connected world we enjoy today could soon be compromised. Demand for mobile data is
expected to increase more than 6-fold by 2019, meaning that the problem will only grow.
Innovation could come to a screeching halt, a real fear for business leaders and entrepreneurs
here in Hawaii, who are working so hard to build a more vibrant technology community.
Our tech industry currently employs 15,000 people, or 3 percent of the private workforce, with
jobs that are 88 percent higher than the average private sector wage in the state. We rank sixth
in the nation for the number of self-employed tech workers. These are all good jobs, and we
have come a long way, but we will only improve our standing with your help.
There isnt a simple fix. But when we consider that the government controls as much as 70
percent of the spectrum that would be prime for commercial wireless use, there seems to be a
ripe opportunity to work with various agencies to identify and reallocate some of that spectrum.
Doing so would help work towards a shared goal from President Barack Obama and the
National Broadband Plan to free up a substantial amount of spectrum by 2020. As you said in a
recent interview with Politico, There is both enough spectrum to be reallocated and enough
revenue on the table that if we make an arrangement where some of the revenue generated is
provided to the Department of Defense in order to alleviate sequestration, then theres an

opportunity for everyone to benefit here.

Given that it takes 13 years on average to reallocate spectrum, we hope you will take a
leadership role in advancing legislation this year that will create a clear pathway to free up more
spectrum to meet the ever-growing demand for mobile services. By reallocating this in-demand,
yet limited resource for more efficient use, you could help us while also providing significant
revenue to the government. It is a win-win, and the most recent auction, which amassed nearly
$45 billion in bids, proves there is a healthy appetite for spectrum.
In conclusion Senator Schatz, we dont want Hawaii to simply participate in the Internet-driven
world we want to thrive. We will only be able to do so in a meaningful way if more wireless
airwaves licensed and unlicensed are freed up for commercial use through a comprehensive
and aggressive plan. Unlike many issues, this is not partisan or ideological, and we feel certain
that you can collaborate with your colleagues to move tangible solutions forward.
As former Democratic FCC Chairman Julius Genachowksi and Republican Commissioner
Robert McDowell recently concluded, Keeping discussions bipartisan and focused on solving
problems through investment, innovation, job growth and new revenue for the Treasury will best
ensure that new technologies pioneered in the U.S. are first enjoyed by U.S. consumers.
We thank you again for your stewardship to the state of Hawaii and the Internet-economy. Your
ability to assume the leadership mantle on these issues in the vein of the late Senator Inouye,
working across party lines on the powerful Commerce Committee to get things done, is much
appreciated. We look forward to following this issue as it advances, and working further with you
and your staff.
Mahalo nui loa,
Nicole Randall (Kaimuki)
Co-founder, Yuru and Principal of Randall Communications
Melialani James (Manoa)
President, Hawaii Venture Capital Association; Program Director & Entrepreneur In Residence,
XLR8UH; and Head of New Ventures, Sultan Ventures
Maya Rogers (Kakaako)
President & CEO, Blue Planet Software, and Co-founder of Blue Startups
Bill Spencer (Chinatown)
CEO, Hawaii Oceanic Technology; Co-founder, HI Impact; Lead Mentor, Blue Startups; and
former President, Hawaii Venture Capital Association
Brian Dote (Manoa)
Chief Innovation Officer, Mid Pacific Institute
Viil Lid, PhD (Honolulu)
Co-Founder, Chief Product Officer, and Chief Science Officer, MeetingSift
Burt Lum (Honolulu)
Executive Director, Hawaii Open Data and Host, Bytemarks Caf on Hawaii Public Radio

Ryan Ozawa (Mililani)

Director of Communications, Hawaii Information Service and Host, Bytemarks Caf on Hawaii
Public Radio
Robert Robinson (Kailua)
President, Hawaii Angels; Founder, Kolohala Ventures; Professor, Shidler College of Business,
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Chenoa Farnsworth (Kaimuki)
Managing Director, Blue Startups; Founder, HI Impact; and Managing Director, Hawaii Angels
Stuart Coleman (Honolulu)
Founder, MindRaising Press
Bruce Fisher (Hawaii Kai)
Owner, Hawaii AlohaTravel
Jene Dana Ron (Honolulu)
Award-winning author and Founder, Focus Opus
Wendy Ostrander (Aina Haina)
Finance Director, Mercedes Benz of Honolulu
Ricky Li (Kakaako)
Strategist and Growth Hacker, AdStreamz
Nicholas Augusta (Honolulu)
Managing Partner, Brookstone Hawaii