Commuters to experience free high-speed Internet in Metro Manila’s main highway starting June 12

[12 June 2017] Manila, Philippines – In line with its mandate to foster connectivity and improve public access to the Internet, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) leads the inauguration of the ‘EDSA Wi-Fi’ project for commuters along EDSA.

EDSA Wi-Fi will make high-speed Internet connectivity available at street level throughout the whole 24-kilometer stretch of Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare. This will include all 13 stations of the MRT Line 3, from Taft Avenue in Pasay City to North Avenue in Quezon City.

As the project’s official launch coincides with this year’s celebration of Philippine Independence Day, DICT Secretary Rodolfo A. Salalima said that this public Wi-Fi offering is a “gift to the people of this free nation.”

According to Secretary Salalima, this follows through President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to provide free Internet access in public places nationwide.

“We work to give Filipinos access to the information and technology that they need in their daily lives. EDSA Wi-Fi will benefit the hundreds of thousands of commuters along EDSA daily.”

To ensure the availability and resilience of the free public Wi-Fi service, the DICT has tapped the facilities of the country’s largest Internet service providers Globe Telecom and PLDT, Inc. Both operators have been working with the local government and public works units of Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati, Manila, Pasay City, as well as the MRT administration and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), to complete installation of the public Wi-Fi service.

With each service provider working on different schemes and access points for this free public Wi-Fi offering, Secretary Salalima highlighted that commuters will have the privilege of choosing the connection that will best serve their needs. “We welcome the cooperation of the private sector on this endeavor as we aim to give people choices,” he said.

“Globe is committed in improving the state of internet in the Philippines by continuously rolling out the needed infrastructure to ensure that our customers are always connected. In September 2016, we completed the deployment of GoWiFi in all 13 MRT stations to provide free high speed internet access to the commuting public. Today, we are supporting the efforts of the government who is tapping our Go WiFi facilities for the EDSA WiFi project to achieve the same goal of one digital nation,” said Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO.

See Enjoy Free WiFi along EDSA through DICT and Globe’s EDSA WiFi Project

“We at PLDT and Smart are happy to support this DICT initiative which will benefit the public immensely. This is in line with our firm commitment to build cutting-edge digital infrastructure that will help power the country’s development and enrich the lives of our people,” said Manuel V. Pangilinan, Chairman and CEO of PLDT and Smart.

See Smart’s FREE WiFi along EDSA to benefit MRT daily commuters and passengers of vehicles along EDSA

Earlier this year, the DICT also worked with the private sector to stage a multi-stakeholder telecoms conference in an effort to enhance government policies for telecoms infrastructure rollout and improve the quality, affordability and coverage of broadband services in the country.

Aside from the EDSA Wi-Fi Project, the DICT has started rolling out the Free Wi-Fi Internet Access in Public Places project in various public areas across the Philippines. Under its umbrella project called “Pipol Konek”, the Department is targeting to reach over 13,000 public places across 145 cities and 1,489 municipalities.

For more information on the Free Wi-Fi Project, visit the website at http://freepublicwifi.gov.ph. More details on the DICT’s other projects can be found on the Department’s Official Website at http://dict.gov.ph.

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