THE number of active free Wi-Fi sites in Central Visayas has remained low that the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT 7) saw collaboration with local government units (LGUs) important to hasten the installation of free wi-fi sites in the region.
DICT 7 Director Frederick Amores admitted during the Regional Multistakeholder's Consultation on the National ICT Development Agenda on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, that Central Visayas only has 137 active free Wi-Fi sites.
Of the 137, 57 are in Negros Oriental, 43 in Cebu, 35 in Bohol, and two in Siquijor.
Amores could not provide yet the exact number of how many free Wi-Fi sites the DICT targets to install this year. The DICT said in 2022, though, that for the next six years, it aims to provide free internet access to around 70 million Filipinos.
Amores said that 74 percent of these active sites are located inside state universities and colleges (SUCs), while nine percent are in public schools, seven percent inside offices of National Government agencies (NGAs), four percent are in LGU offices, three percent are in government-owned hospitals, and one percent is in public plazas.
Amores’ presentation shown during the Regional Multistakeholder's Consultation on the National ICT Development Agenda on Tuesday failed to show where the remaining two percent of the active sites are located in the region.
Amores said direct collaboration with the LGUs is important to fast-track the installation of free Wi-Fi sites, as the LGUs can identify the areas that need internet access.
“Before, DICT ang lahat, meaning kami ang mobayad sa contractor, kami ang motaud, kami ang tanan. It is very slow process, but mas dali kung we work with the LGUs because they know kung asa man ibutang,” Amores said.
(Before, DICT has to do all the work, like paying the contractor and installing the units, and this proved to be a very slow process, so it is much faster if we work with the LGUs since they know the areas that need internet access.) (EHP)