The next time you go to Aling Baby’s sari-sari store, you might not just be asking for your favorite softdrink. You might also be asking for the wi-fi password, because soon, your suking tindahan will be a hotspot for people to connect.
WiFi Interactive Network (WIN) will roll out the project after winning seed funding from Microsoft Corporation’s Affordable Access Initiative, which aims to connect more people to the internet and reduce costs.
WIN was one of the 12 start-ups that were granted $150,000 (roughly P7,047,375) out of the 248 start-ups that joined from around the world.
The Quezon City-based initiative will roll out the project in provinces like Bulacan, Laguna and possibly Davao. It will use TV White Space (TVWS) technology, a wireless data delivery system using frequencies of vacant TV channels. Compared to regular wi-fi’s 600 feet reach, TVWS can service up to 10 kilometers, an advantage to the Philippines’ archipelagic state. It was previously used in disaster relief efforts in Bohol and Leyte after Typhoon Haiyan (Super Typhoon Yolanda) hit.
To date, WIN is still identifying where to pilot the technology, but it will service small and medium enterprises for one year. Over 100 locations are already being set up, but the goal is to install 10,000 wi-fi hotspots in three years. The group is also confident about regional and global expansion.
The service hopes to be sustainable by tapping into advertising through a purchase-for-access model. A customer must buy an advertiser’s product before they can access the wi-fi. The advertisers will cover installation, management, and maintenance of the hotspots, and in return, revenue earned will encourage them to lengthen their advertising. San Miguel Corporation has already signed up.
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