DEPARTMENT of Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy said that the agency is eyeing to build 772 free WiFi sites in Regions XI and XIII, particularly in areas with public schools and rural health centers.

“So, we have a law, the Free Public Internet Access Law, which was passed in 2016 if I remember that right. So, for this particular project, we are actually just implementing the law, but we will be focusing on public schools, state universities and colleges and rural health units,” Dy said.

“So iyong 772 are mostly public schools and rural health units,” he added.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the administration’s USD 288-million flagship Philippine Digital Infrastructure Project (PDIP) aimed at boosting broadband connectivity nationwide, particularly in remote areas and strengthening cybersecurity.

The national fiber backbone and broadband program has been a government vision for quite some time already, Dy said.

With the PDIP, the government should be able to finish by 2028 the entire span of the national fiber backbone, he added.