Makati City Rep. Luis Campos, Jr. said the 19th Congress aims to fund the installation of at least 50,000 password-free wi-fi hotspots across geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas through the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
“Our target is at least 50,000 wi-fi hotspots where the public can freely access the internet. This means the DICT must put up 36,538 new hotspots on top of the 13,462 already built as of June 2024,” Campos said in a press release on Sunday.
“Money is not a problem because the Free Internet Access in Public Places Law provides dedicated and sustained funding from the spectrum user fees collected by the government every year from private telecommunications companies,” he added.
Campos noted that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released P2.45 billion for the Free Public Internet Access Program (FPIAP) in February and another P3.68 billion in August.
According to the Makati City lawmaker, the House Committee on Appropriations wanted the DBM to release additional money for the FPIAP every time the DICT reported the utilization of at least 70 percent of program funds to either pay for subscriptions or install additional hotspots.
“Right now, the DICT is already spending around P500 million every month just to pay for the subscription fees for the 13,462 hotspots that already have 10 million unique users,” Campos said.
The law mandates password-free internet access points in public parks, plazas, libraries, barangay halls, public schools, state universities and colleges, public hospitals, rural health units, public airports and seaports, and public transport terminals, among other sites.
“There’s no question that highly improved internet connectivity can help drive economic growth,” the Makati City politician said. He cited studies showing a 10 percent increase in the country’s internet penetration rate can generate up to P342 billion in new economic benefits.
Campos, who has championed greater public access to high-speed internet networks, is the author of House Bill No. 10215 seeking to reclassify internet connection as a basic telecommunications service to which every Filipino enjoys a right of access, rather than a value-added service.
