Philippines to connect over 900 cities with free Wi-Fi
US$31.6 million to connect 997 cities to free Wi-Fi.
The Philippines plans to roll out free Wi-Fi to nearly 1000 cities by November, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has said.
This week it tendered for the PHP 1.408 billion (US$31.6 million) project to set up Wi-Fi hotspots in 997 cities.
Town plazas and parks, public schools and universities, libraries, government hospitals, train stations, airports, city halls and central government offices will all have free Wi-Fi, according to the Terms of Reference for the project.
Up to 105,000 users will be able to access the Wi-Fi at any one time, surfing at speeds up to 256 Kbps.
Citizens will be able to use a government-supplied digital ID to login to the Wi-Fi. Foreigners can register their passport number to get a username and password delivered to them via email or SMS.
Citizens verified through digital IDs will be able to use up to 3GB of data per month, while those using passports or other government ID can use up to 2GB per month.
The government aims to complete the project by November with higher priority for lower-income cities.
While the DOST’s ICT Office will lead the project, a steering committee with 15 other agencies will coordinate the project. These include the Departments of Tourism, Trade and Industry, Health, Budget and Management, Education, and the Metro Manila Development Authority.
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