DICT earmarks P1.2 billion for free Wi-Fi hot spots

MANILA, Philippines — The government is spending another P1.2 billion in 2020 to put up new Wi-Fi hot spots that will provide Filipinos free internet connectivity, Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. said yesterday.

Campos said the funding is part of the proposed P5.2 billion budget for the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

“The amount is on top of the P1.2 billion earmarked this year to build additional access points where Filipinos may freely connect to the internet via their mobile devices,” Campos said.

In a report submitted to the House of Representatives, the DICT said that as of April, it has installed password-free Wi-Fi hotspots in 2,330 sites, covering all 17 regions across 73 provinces in over 640 municipalities and cities.

The money for the free Wi-Fi project is taken from the free public internet access fund, comprised of spectrum user fees collected by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

Campos is author of House Bill 3563, which seeks to grant the NTC broad new powers to compel the country’s telecommunications sector to deliver superior internet services to the public.

To improve internet services, the NTC in July issued a permit enabling the Mislatel consortium (now Dito Telecommunity Corp.) to operate as the country’s third telecommunications player, next to PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc.

“Dito’s entry fulfills President Duterte’s initiative to establish stronger market competition to assure Filipinos greater access to low-priced, high-speed internet services,” Campos said.

Dito pledged to invest P257 billion in five years to provide 84 percent of the country access to a minimum internet speed of 55 Mbps.

Meanwhile, Campos is batting for greater overall budgetary support to the three-year-old DICT.

“This early, we have to give the DICT all the funding it needs to immediately advance critical projects, including the national government portal, national government data center and the national broadband,” he said. – Edu Punay