(Photo from: gov.ph)
Government announced its plans about its free Wi-Fi project where they will install wireless Internet access points in most public spaces like town plazas, parks, government offices, health units, and transport terminals including train stations, seaports, and airports.
During its roll out, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Information and Communications Technology (ICT) will include class one and two municipalities to better reach the class three to six municipalities which were the original target beneficiaries of the project.
According to Undersecretary Louis Casambre of the ICT Office, “We intend to increase the budget allocation for Municipal Connectivity for the project, by around 50%, likewise, we will also be including class one and two municipalities in order to better reach classes three to six, the ones who need Internet connectivity the most.”
If this is implemented, the total number of beneficiary municipalities will be 1,435.
DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo said, “We are looking forward to providing connectivity through our private sector partners especially in the rural areas. With Internet connectivity readily available, their lives can be enhanced with better access to weather information, education, agricultural resources, commerce, e-government services, as well as employment, through online jobs.”
Innove & Yondu Inc. will handle domestic connectivity to 14 major cities, which will act as hubs for the project. PLDT will handle connectivity to the international Internet. WIT, Converge ICT Solutions and a joint ventue between AZ Communications and Omniprime will handle connectivity to various municipalities. Abratique and Associates Inc. which will be utilizing CISCO equipment to deliver connectivity to the end users, was awarded with the System and Management and Access component of the project which will oversee the nationwide network of access points and provide the hardware necessary.
According to World bank studies, every 10% increase in broadband Internet penetrations translates to 1.38 percent increase in a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth.
Question is, how fast will the Internet be? How effective do you think this will be?
