Free internet for everyone!
There will now be more free WiFi hotspots provided by the government, as President Duterte has officially signed the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act (Republic Act 10929), into law.
The law will allow more public WiFi hotspots in public places, namely:
- national and local government offices
- public basic education institutions
- state universities and colleges
- technology institutions
- public hospitals, health centers, and rural health units
- public parks, plazas, libraries and barangay reading centers
- public airports and seaports
- public transport terminals
The Department of Information and Communications Technology or the DICT will be the lead agency for the implementation of the law, and is free to seek private partners for realization of the legislation. The DICT has partnered with Globe and PLDT, the only two telcos in the Philippines, for several public WiFi projects in the past, including the one in NAIA and EDSA, and it’s more than likely they’ll be reliving their partnership with both telcos for this law.
Read more:
NAIA Gets 1Gbps Free WiFi Via Smart
5 Things You Need To Know About The Free EDSA WiFi Project
As far as speeds go, the law mandates that the free WiFi hotspots get at least 2Mbps when it’s rolled out.
