Free WiFi Program: It’s complicated

Making available free WiFi to many parts of the country, it appears, is not as simple as it sounds.

A year ago, President Duterte signed into law the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act mandating the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to enhance internet connectivity for Filipinos, especially in underserved and poorly served areas of the country.

According to a DICT plan, as many as 14,000 sites in 1,400 municipalities nationwide, will initially be targeted. The WiFi plan will be expanded to 200,000 access points by 2020 — making it one of the biggest free WiFi deployments in the world.

The first phase of the project will provide internet access to over 4,500 public schools, more than 3,000 public parks and plazas, about 2,200 government hospitals and rural health units, 677 public libraries, more than 1,500 identified national and local government offices, close to 700 state universities and colleges, and 90 seaports, airports, and train stations.

The Philippine government believes in World Bank studies declaring that every 10 percent increase in broadband connectivity results in a 1.38 percent increase in gross domestic product (GDP).

Thus, providing free internet connectivity can provide a stimulus to further socio-economic development, especially in the countryside where internet service by private telecommunication companies are not available.

Project snags

Recently, the DICT lodged a plea for help, particularly to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), to help bring in foreign companies and technology to roll out its free WiFi plan. This was after the DICT encountered numerous problems leading to delays.

Last year, a Commission on Audit report noted the DICT’s free WiFi project had achieved a “very low performance rate.” Early this year, reports of bid failures in the project’s procurement process contributed further to the growing anxiety about the project’s future.

Recently, the Senate called to task the DICT for the slow pace of connectivity in state universities and colleges (SUCs), with only two — Aklan State University and the Caraga State University — of the 112 in the list for this year having been installed with free internet access.

Senators are concerned that a large part of the P280 million they had approved for SUCs’ internet connectivity next year will not be used, as well as the P1.16 billion earmarked for the installation of 10,800 free WiFi hotspots all over the country.

Digital divide

As things are developing, and as our information technology bureaucrats are realizing, there is a big gap between the lofty goal of providing free WiFi access throughout the country—and its actual implementation.

For now, the DICT has taken a step back to map out and build the free WiFi infrastructure, particularly a national fiber backbone, that is needed to relay connectivity signals to far-flung areas, a venture that private telcos had refused to invest in because of “low demand,” ergo, little or no profitability.

The harsh reality is that the free WiFi project is going to entail more tax money, with no guarantees of success in uplifting the lives of more Filipinos.

Bridging the digital divide, after all, is a complicated thing, and not as simple as putting a computer in the classroom or thinking of a farmer or fisherman using a smartphone to help boost his productivity. We’ll get to that in more detail next week.

Alternative to phasing out the jeepney

In the meantime, we give way to our readers. This one is from Rafael E. Rueda Jr.

“The iconic jeepney and calesa should retain their external and interior arrangement and appearance since it is only here in the Philippines that one can see and experience riding those vehicles, and which tourists find attractive.

“Hence, the only changes to be made on the present jeepney to make it safe, less pollutant, comfortable, (with) less purchase and maintenance cost, and (charging) cheaper fare for the average and poor passengers are:

a. Change the engine to an electric one for negative pollutant.

b. Improve the quality of manufacturing materials for safety, convenience, comfort and endurance.

c. Maintain an improved instrument panel (speedometer, electric charge gauge), and the manual operation of brake, change gear, clutch, switch system, accelerator, etc.

d. Delete all modern (computer and information technology) items.

“For erring jeepney drivers, give them disciplinary action and seminars. For owners/operators of jeepneys, a heavy penalty for failure to properly maintain their jeepneys always in top condition.”

Keeping EDSA traffic-friendly

From Federico Infante Lojo of Lipa City: “Indeed the management of Metro Manila traffic is getting more horrible by the day, to say the least. Almost all the disciplinary traffic schemes of the MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority), intended to ease traffic, do not seem to work.

“I go commuting around the metro, and what I see are so many road blocks — side street parking, street vendors, illegal tricycles/jeepney terminals, street basketball courts, street private parties, and funeral wakes — that I believe should be cleared first before any other traffic easing plan is proposed. 

“Another matter is (keeping the) sidewalk for the ordinary pedestrians. There are areas wherein there are no sidewalks at all, and pedestrians are forced to walk along side streets/roads, exposing them to danger as traffic hazards.

“There are also several spans of city streets that were closed to accommodate vendors —Taft Ave. along Baclaran and Rizal Ave. along Sta. Cruz — to name a few. Streets are for moving vehicles, not for vendors or parking. 

“All these practices should be stopped, and not unless MMDA muscles up to prioritize addressing the same can we expect a traffic-friendly EDSA.”

Facebook and Twitter

We are actively using two social networking websites to reach out more often and even interact with and engage our readers, friends and colleagues in the various areas of interest that I tackle in my column. Please like us at www.facebook.com and follow us at www.twitter.com/ReyGamboa.

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected]. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net.