At least 42,000 barangays in the country will have free Internet access by June this year to ensure adequate and accessible quality information on national government programs, a Malacañang official said.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said in a radio interview that the government will roll out 42,000 satellite receivers, particularly in remote areas where communications are not accessible or have no internet signals.
Andanar said not only barangay halls will be given free internet access, but all local government offices nationwide for them to easily communicate with the Office of the President.
“We are fully aware that many barangays in the country don’t have telecommunication signal. So through the government satellite network, we can provide free Internet to barangay halls with no Internet,” Andanar said.
He said the project is part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s program to have free internet access granted by the government, which he signed in 2017 under Republic Act 10929, the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act.
“The satellite to be installed is similar to the Direct To Home discs, which have routers. We can also give an infinite amount of TV channels for national government and local government like DILG TV or DoH TV,” the PCOO secretary said.
The Information and Communications Technology Office of the Department of Science and Technology is the lead agency for providing the Internet connectivity.
If the DoST is unable to provide the wireless Internet connection, the commercial Internet service providers would be tapped to provide the free services, Andanar said.