DICT to activate free WiFi access in Cebu next month

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) targets to activate some free WiFi access points in Cebu by June, an official said.

Antonio Padre, assistant regional head of DICT-Visayas Cluster 2, said the agency is targeting to start the testing and commissioning of some access points by June.

"We're looking at around 300 access points in Cebu," he told The FREEMAN in an interview at the sidelines of the Transformation Summit in Cebu City on Monday.

But initially, he said the first phase will include some areas in Metro Cebu and about five areas outside the metro.

He mentioned the cities of Naga, Carcar, Danao, and the municipality of Moalboal.

He said they hope to activate some WiFi access points before the second State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Duterte come last Monday of July.

In his first SONA in July last year, Duterte promised Filipinos fast and free WiFi in most public areas.

Duterte had ordered the DICT to create a national broadband plan to speed up the deployment of fiber optic cables and wireless technology to improve internet speed.

Meanwhile, the bill seeking to establish free internet in public places is just awaiting the final approval of Congress before Duterte signs it into law.

The Senate and House of Representatives agreed on the final version of the measure last May 15.

The Senate and Congress, however, have yet to ratify the final version before it goes to Malacañang for the President’s signature.

Senator Paolo Benigno ‘Bam’ Aquino IV, chair of the Senate committee on science and technology, said in earlier reports the challenge of implementation is now on DICT and the private sector.

Aquino is the sponsor and co-author of Senate Bill 1277 or the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act.

Furthermore, the National Broadband Plan is also on track as it seeks to address the longstanding slow internet connection issue in the Philippines, deemed among the slowest in Asia.

The DICT targets to implement the national broadband network plan next year as it finalizes its study.

The national broadband project, which is deemed by DICT as one of its priorities, is the government’s latest attempt for a broadband plan since the $329.5-million National Broadband Network deal with China’s state-owned Zhong Xing Telecommunications (ZTE) Corp., which was abandoned in 2007 due to a corruption scandal.

The project could cost between P77 billion to P200 billion, based on earlier reports, should the present government push through the broadband network project.

The 2015 Global Net Index of Internet metrics software-maker Ookla ranked the Philippines 176th out of 202 countries in terms of broadband speed, averaging just 3.64 megabytes per second (mbps) – around a sixth of the 23.3 mbps global average.

The Philippines' Internet service is also deemed one of the most expensive in the world, averaging at $18 (P840)/mbps compared to the global average of $5 (P230)/mbps. (FREEMAN)