14-10-2023 (MANILA) The Marcos administration has unveiled an ambitious plan to establish a comprehensive national fiber backbone connectivity by the year 2026. This sweeping initiative includes the provision of free Wi-Fi access to all barangays and a call for investors to join in Internet connectivity projects.
During a news forum held in Quezon City on Saturday, Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Jeffrey Dy provided insights into the administration’s two-fold connectivity strategies: Free Wi-Fi and the National Fiber Backbone.
Dy stated, “The National Fiber Backbone is now 70% complete in Luzon. Our target is to have it completed by 2026, extending from North Luzon to Mindanao. Furthermore, we are actively inviting investors to help establish additional cable landing stations off the tip of Mindanao to enhance redundancy. This is essential because most of our cable landing stations are primarily concentrated in Luzon, with a few in Visayas.”
The national program encompasses the construction of a government-owned fiber network that complements the existing commercial fiber networks provided by telecommunication giants such as PLDT, Globe, and Converge. This extensive network will span a remarkable 28,000 kilometers across the archipelago.
Having achieved 70% progress in Luzon, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is now preparing to embark on Phases Two and Three, focusing on the expansion of this network to cover Visayas and Mindanao in the near future.
Concurrently, the administration’s free Wi-Fi initiative aims to provide access at 110,000 sites nationwide by the end of 2026, with an estimated budget of approximately P50 billion.
The Free Wi-Fi for All Project, mandated by law, is tasked with delivering free Wi-Fi connectivity in public spaces, including parks, municipal halls, public schools, state universities and colleges (SUCs), and various other public facilities.
