MANILA, PHILIPPINES | The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), together with the National Telecommunications Commmission (NTC), will formally launch on Independence Day, June 12, free Wi-Fi and high-speed Internet services, dubbed as “Alay Para sa Malayang Pilipino,” for the whole stretch of EDSA.
Free Wi-Fi is one of the promises made by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July 2016.
“I have ordered the newly-created DICT to develop a National Broadband Plan to accelerate the deployment of fiber optic cables and wireless technologies to improve Internet speed,” President Duterte said.
The Chief Executive further instructed the DICT “to provide Wi-Fi access in selected public places throughout the country.”
To make the EDSA project happen, the DICT is looking to provide access points in and between all MRT stations, and will enhance infrastructure for cellular services along Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare.
Service testing of the project will be carried out over the weekend starting June 10.
Priority stretch of the project is from Cubao to Guadalupe.
DICT’s partner agencies include the Department of Transportation, Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT3), PLDT and SMART, Globe Telecom, ABRATIQUE & ASSOCIATES, Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRT DevCo), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA, Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), Manila Electric Company (MERALCO), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), and the local governments of Quezon City, Makati City, Mandaluyong and Pasay City.
