MANILA, Philippines – Target ng pamahalaan na makapagtayo ng mahigit 700 free Wi-Fi sites sa buong bansa, lalo na sa Mindanao, na bahagi ng kamakailang inaprubahan na Philippine Digital Infrastructure Project (PDIP).
Inaprubahan ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ang flagship PDIP na ipinresenta ng Department of Information and Communications Technology kasabay ng 18th National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board meeting nitong Martes, Hunyo 25.
Ayon kay DICT Undersecretary Jeffry Ian Dy, popondohan ang proyekto ng World Bank loan na nagkakahalaga ng US $288 million.
Aniya, layon nitong palakasin ang broadband connectivity sa buong bansa partikular na sa mga liblib na lugar.
“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,” sinabi ni Dy sa press briefing sa Palasyo.
“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,” dagdag pa niya.
Target ng pamahalaan ang Mindanao, ayon kay Dy, dahil bagama’t ang buong bansa ay mayroong internet penetration rate na 73.6%, malaki ang kaibahan sa ilang lugar partikular na sa Region XIII, kung saan ang internet penetration rate ay mas mababa ng 17%.
Ani Dy, inaasahan na makukumpleto ang proyekto sa 2028 at tututukan nito ang mga pampublikong paaralan, state universities and colleges, at rural health units.
“Progressive siya but we should be able to complete by 2028 including nga iyong 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,” aniya. RNT/JGC
