Over 700 free Wi-Fi sites eyed under PH Digital Infra Project

The Philippine government is targeting to provide more than 700 free Wi-Fi sites, especially in Mindanao, as part of the recently approved Philippine Digital Infrastructure Project (PDIP).

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. approved the flagship PDIP that was presented by the Department of Information and Communications Technology during the 18th National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board meeting on Tuesday.

According to DICT Undersecretary Jeffry Ian Dy, the project will be funded by a World Bank loan worth US $288 million. He said this aims to boost broadband connectivity across the country, particularly in remote areas.

"It is the largest and actually the first of its kind in the Philippines for a loan for digital infrastructure. It will seek to complete the National Fiber Backbone which spans from… remember that in April, the President already launched the first phase of this which goes from Baler to Laoag, then to Metro Manila," Dy said in a Palace press briefing.

"This year, we are going to finish Phase 2 and 3 of the National Fiber Backbone, which connects Metro Manila to Southern Luzon. With this loan, we should be able to get submarine cables across Visayas and then connect it to Mindanao. It's a domestic submarine. On top of that, we should be able to also provide 772 free Wi-Fi sites concentrating on Mindanao in Region XI... Regions XI and Region XIII," he added.

The government is targeting Mindanao, Dy said, because even though the entire country has an internet penetration rate of 73.6%, the disparity is seen to be larger in these regions. In some areas, especially Region XIII, the internet penetration rate is lower than 17%.

Asked how many users would benefit from this project, Dy said that based on the agency's estimates, the expected number would be about 5 million to 6 million.

Citing the 2023 International Telecommunications Union, Dy said around 86.5 million Filipinos have access to the internet.

To ensure the security of these sites, Dy said the DICT would put up censors to guarantee that the network is not being used for illegal activities.

"It's a mitigation of risk. I'm not saying it will totally disappear but we have to put proper controls in place to mitigate that particular risk," Dy said.

Dy also said the project is expected to be completed by 2028. The focus areas are public schools, state universities and colleges, and rural health units, according to Dy.

"Progressive siya but we should be able to complete by 2028 including (the) Fiber Backbone. Even though we complete in 2028, the entire project is a 10-year project. So progressively, from 2025 to 2035, the entire free Wi-Fi sites that we will be building will be sustainable," he said. — VDV, GMA Integrated News