07 October 2024

The Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is preparing to tender a contract worth just over PHP37 million to roll out free wireless internet access services in 67 ‘roll-on, roll-off’ (RoRo) ports across the country.

The winning contractor for the project must install Wi-Fi access in 29 RoRo ports in Luzon, 18 in Visayas and 20 in Mindanao. RoRo ports specialise in cargo ships transporting vehicles that can be driven on and off the vessel via ramps, as opposed to lifting them with cranes.

The contractor can decide what backhaul technology to use, but the contract sets speed performance requirements specific to the technology used. For satellite backhaul, download speeds must range between 100-220 Mbps, with a minimum uplink speed of 10Mbps and a round-trip latency of less than 100ms. For fibre backhaul, the Wi-Fi access points must support an average download speed of 150Mbps and a latency of less than 50ms.

Whoever wins the contract will be required to start installation within 30 days, and complete the project within four months, or by the end of this year, whichever is earlier. The budget for the project comes from the special account in the general fund for the Free Public Internet Access Program (FPIAP), which has been installing free Wi-Fi in public spaces and state-run schools. The FPIAP has had annual budget of PHP2.5 billion since 2022.