Soon, there will be free internet access in public places.
President Rodrigo Duterte on August 2, 2017 signed into law Republic Act 10929 instituting the free internet access program in public places.
Under the “Free Internet Access in Public Places Act,” the government shall establish a program that will provide free access to internet services in public places throughout the country to promote knowledge-building among citizens and enable them to participate and compete in the evolving information and communication age.
The funding for the project will come from the Free Public Internet Access Fund, under the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
Public places covered by the law include national and local government offices; public basic education institutions; state universities and colleges SUCs, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) technology institutions; and public hospitals, health centers, and rural health units.
Also included are public parks, plazas, libraries, and barangay reading centers; public airports and seaports; and public transport terminals.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will be the lead implementing agency that will oversee the effective and efficient implementation of the law.
RA 10929 mandates the DICT to develop a comprehensive plan for the timely and effective implementation and propagation of the free internet access program within one year of its effectivity.
The DICT is also mandated to ensure that the minimum internet speed per user should be two megabits per second (2 Mbps) or as prescribed by the National Broadband Plan, whichever is higher.
According to the International Communications Union, only 44 million, or 43.5 percent of Filipinos, have internet access as of 2016.
Meanwhile, Kabataan Partylist also lauded the new law, and added the telecom "duopoly" should also be investigated to improve the internet speed in the country.
"National industries should be asserted for public infrastructure free from the strings of profiteering. We also must ensure the users' rights to privacy upon use and date collection of the public internet services," the partylist statement said.
The Philippines has the lowest internet speed among a number of Asia-Pacific countries, according to an internet monitoring group.
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