THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is optimistic that the government can cover the entire country in its bid to provide free internet access in public places by 2022.
DICT Undersecretary Monchito Ibrahim, who was in Bacolod City Friday, August 18, said it is the mandate of President Rodrigo Duterte to fully implement the program within his six-year term.
Prior to the signing into law of the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act early this month, the DICT has already started implementing free Wi-Fi access project prioritizing lower class municipalities in the country.
In Negros Occidental, it has already installed connections in four sites in the towns of Candoni, Moises Padilla, and Pontevedra.
Ibrahim said that more connections are up for installation next year.
“We will start from low-class municipalities, (and eventually in) highly-urbanized cities,” the DICT official said, adding that “we have to deliver the mandate of the president and we are positive about it.”
The newly-signed Republic Act 10929 is mainly aimed at promoting knowledge-building among citizens and enables them to participate in the evolving information and communication age.
The DICT, however, recognized that there are challenges in its implementation.
Ibrahim said that infrastructure, or the backbone project, is going to be the difficult part.
“But we can always hire internet service provider (ISP) companies. The government will pay then they provide Wi-Fi connections,” he added.
Under the law, free internet is provided at access points such as national and local government offices, public education institutions, state universities and colleges, technology institutions, public hospitals, health centers, rural health units, public parks, plazas, libraries, barangay reading centers, public airports and seaports, and public transport terminals.
DICT Visayas Director Frederick Amores said there was a plan to deploy at least 100,000 sites across the country for the free Wi-Fi access in the next 10 years.
With the urgency as mandated by the president, he said they should accomplish 6,000 sites by next year.
“We are also partnering with the private sector and various organizations to make it happen faster,” Amores said, adding that the law institutionalizes the free Wi-Fi project making it more sustainable.
In terms of challenges, the DICT Visayas Cluster also saw a lot of issues particularly in the technical aspect.
For Negros, which is a mountainous island, Amores pointed out that there are many off-grid areas especially in the Oriental side that are challenged in terms of infrastructure.
“Thus, we are looking at local cable operators because they have networks in communities which the telecommunications companies may not have,” he added.
