The
Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Free Public Wi-Fi Program has been
approved by the Senate and will be rolling out next year.
With
the approved budget of P3 billion from the original budget of P338 million, the DOST can
now put up 50,872 Wi-Fi hotspots in the country which includes 7,917 public
high schools, 38,694 public elementary schools, 113 state colleges, 1,118
public libraries and public space in 1,490 towns in the Philippines.
Ralph
Recto, the senate president said that the budget increase for the W-Fi- program
was accomplished because the Senate deferred by one year the Department of Budget
and Management’s lease-purchase of laptops, which would later be issued to the
selected government employees.
He
also explained that “I think it is the win-win situation. We set up the access
points first. Because right now, teachers, for instance, already own
smartphones. Their problem is that they cannot connect to the Internet. Once
this is set up, then we bring in the laptops”.
Aside
from public schools and municipalities, the hospitals, medical centers,
government structures and public spaces like MRT, LRT, airports, sea ports and
train station will also be the beneficiaries of the said program.
Source: Philstar
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