Hawaiian Telcom is speeding up its switch from old copper lines to fiber across Hawaii, good news for customers who lost phone and internet service during recent storms.

• The company is moving faster on its statewide fiber network after a run of storms knocked out service.
• Fiber is tougher and easier to fix, so outages should be restored faster during the next disaster.
• Customers will not pay anything for the upgrade.
• Fiber broadband already reaches 90% of the company's Hawaii customers.

Outlook: Expect the remaining copper lines to be retired faster, with the pace tied to how hard the next storm season hits.