BAGUIO CITY – Residents and visitors alike will be given a timely Christmas present from the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) and Smart Telecommunications with the installation of public wifi in four strategic sites in the city to allow for greater access to the wordwide web and updates on events around the global village.
Louie Metra, PLDT relationship manager, said these 4 sites are the Baguio City hall area, Burnham Park, Mines View Park and Session road.
Mitra said the access to wifi in the 4 strategic areas will be available anytime as the installation will this month.
However, he explained that the access to the public wifi will be limited because of issues on cyber security to guarantee the protection of the public from potential cyber bullying and other cybercrimes like personal security of users.
Jose Rosete, head of Smart Telecommunications external affairs, claimed that while the public wifi will be free to the public, the provider shall shoulder the cost of infrastructure of the wifi service as it will be wired due to the volume of people accessing the service at any one time.
He added both PLTD and Smart will be using the state-of-the-art telecommunication infrastructure of the telecommunications company to be able to provide the service to the public because of the growing need for wifi service in public places in the city.
“There will always be someone shouldering the expenses of the said service. It could either be the company or the concerned local government or national government agency that will provide the funds for the said purpose, thus it is not really free,” Rosete stressed.
The Smart official claimed the installation of the public wifi in the 4 strategic areas in the city is part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) project of the two telecommunications companies to help improve the availability of wifi service to both residents and visitors of the city.
According to him, the installation of public wifi service entails state-of-the-art infrastructure, like fiber optic cables, in the areas where the service is intended to be made available and it is only PLDT that has the sophisticated infrastructure that is ready to provide the needed service to the public.
He underscored both PLDT and Smart will continue to look into possible ways by which the two companies can enhance their CSR projects for the public to have easier access to the internet through the public wifi service.
By Dexter A. See
