DICT eyes 21k free WiFi sites this year

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) plans to accelerate the rollout of free WiFi sites in underserved markets to hit its 21,000 target this year.

Documents obtained by The STAR showed the DICT has activated 18,849 free WiFi sites in 9,769 locations nationwide through the Free Public Internet Access Program (FPIAP) as of May.

Through this, the DICT is able to provide connectivity service to 11.2 million Filipinos, most of whom live in areas where telco networks are unreliable.

Information Assistant Secretary Philip Varilla said the DICT aims to expedite its rollout of FPIAP in the second half to establish and maintain as many as 21,000 free WiFi sites this year.

If accomplished, this puts the DICT on track to reach its subsequent targets of putting up 25,000 sites by 2026 and 37,500 by 2027. By 2028, the agency wants to have 50,000 sites online.

To date, Southern Tagalog has the most number of free WiFi sites at 1,897, followed by Western Visayas’ 1,677; Central Luzon’s 1,649; Bicol Region’s 1,522; and Ilocos Region’s 1,494.

Varilla said the FPIAP has to be expanded to cover more Filipinos particularly in remote islands such as in Tawi-Tawi, where the DICT has opened 53 sites in 25 locations.

Tawi-Tawi is one of the hardest provinces to cover for telcos, as it is the southernmost province in the Philippines, with a location closer to Malaysia than to Manila.

Tawi-Tawi belongs to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, considered as the poorest region for internet access. The region posted a national-low download speed of 16.2 Mbps last year, according to connectivity analyst Ookla.

However, the DICT also has a long way to go in improving internet access in Bangsamoro. As of May, the agency has set up only 586 sites in the region, with 365 of them located in the farthest provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

The DICT has the energy to accelerate the rollout of the FPIAP after receiving a budget of P7.5 billion for the program, its largest in history.

The FPIAP, one of the DICT’s flagship projects, seeks to bridge the digital gap in the country by offering free internet access in government offices and schools, especially in remote areas.