DAVAO CITY – Free public wi-fi connections in third to sixth class municipalities would be coming this year, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) announced here Friday.
The project originally targeted Metro Manila areas and several municipalities. This year, Congress approved P3 billion to provide free wi-fi access to the poor towns nationwide, especially in their public terminals, hospitals and schools. The country has around 1,400 municipalities.
This translates to 5,000 free wi-fi spots according to IT blog yugatech.com
In its website, the DOST information techonology department cited a World Bank study that said an increase in bandwidth use of 10 percent leads to an increase in gross domestic product by 1.38 percent.
The DOST will tap existing Internet service providers for internet connectivity and also the TV White Space, a technology that taps into unused broadcast frequency, to reach far-flung barangays. The DOST had used the TV White Space to relay communications to areas hit by the earthquake in Bohol and by Typhoon Yolanda.
DOST Secretary Mario Montejo said test broadcasts have been made in Bohol and Cavite, and private sectors are excited with this new venture.
