Free Wi-Fi Coverage for 12,100 Education Centers in 2021

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has plans toa build free Wi-Fi access points across thousands of education centers to increase connectivity amidst the pandemic.

The DICT has proposed a ₱46.6 billion budget for 2021 to address this project, as compared to the ₱6 billion budget for this year.

10,300 public schools and more than 1,800 state universities, colleges, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority institutions would be the recipients of the upgrade in digital infrastructure, totaling 12,100 education centers. This will increase the government’s provision of free Wi-fi service to more than 23,000 sites, that include national and local government offices, government hospitals, public parks, plazas, libraries, rural health units, and transport terminals.

The DICT has also allocated ₱13.5 billion for its national broadband program that includes the national fiber optic cable backbone, which aims to cover the entire Philippine territory.

Gregorio Honasan II, Information and Communication Secretary, “The establishment of a national fiber optic backbone is a very pressing matter, not just in light of the public health emergency, but for the sake of national competitiveness,”