The implementation of free public Wi-Fi at Plaza Sugbo and Plaza Independencia, which was initially planned for July 2024, has been postponed until November 2024 due to technical and budgetary concerns.The implementation of free public Wi-Fi at Plaza Sugbo and Plaza Independencia, which was initially planned for July 2024, has been postponed until November 2024 due to technical and budgetary concerns. Councilman Jerry Guardo, the author of the resolution on free Wi-Fi, announced the postponement to address issues related to the project’s pricing and mobilization/demobilization services. Councilman Nestor Archival raised concerns about the project being too expensive based on the Program of Works and Budgets (Powe), which revealed that the city would incur significant costs for mobilization and demobilization alone. Councilman Rey Gealon suggested an alternative proposal to provide free Wi-Fi without any cost to the city government. This proposal involves collaborating with an entity that would offer the service in exchange for displaying 30-second advertisements on the city’s Wi-Fi portal, similar to what is offered at airports. To further discuss these issues, the City Council has scheduled a closed session on August 21, 2024. Representatives from various departments and the contractor involved in the project will be invited to attend the meeting to address the concerns and explore potential solutions.
Free public Wi-Fi at Plaza Sugbo and Plaza Independencia postponed until November.
Photo by Wendell Waffer
Free WiFi Delayed
Free public Wi-Fi was supposed to be implemented in certain areas of Plaza Sugbo and Independencia during the month of July. However, due to technical issues, the planned implementation has been postponed to November 2024.
The author of the resolution on free WiFi, Councilman Jerry Guardo, recently announced that the project should be postponed to further address the issues surrounding the pricing of the project and the mobilization and demobilization services. These concerns were also expressed by Councilman Nestor Archival during their regular meeting on July 17, 2024.
Photo by Wendell Waffer
Too expensive
Councilman Nestor Archival expressed his concern over the pricing of the project, saying that the project is disadvantageous to the city based on the Program of Works and Budgets (Powe). He further revealed that the city will pay Php 345,567.00 based on the Powe for just the mobilization and demobilization. Which Councilman Archival found too expensive.
However, Councilman Rey Gealon made a proposal that would be beneficial to the government and would not incur any costs at all.
He said: “There is a proposal that an entity would provide free Wi-Fi to City Hall at no cost to the city government, and it would just go into the portal every hour, just like at the airport. What they want is to put in 30-second ads, and that is what for them, and for us, is one hour of internet usage, just like any other public facility abroad.”
Photo by Wendell Waffer
— To further address these issues, the City Council has agreed to hold a closed session on August 21, 2024, inviting representatives from the Department of Engineering and Public Works, Bids and Awards Committee, Information and Communications Technology, Contractor of Trends and Technologies, Department of General Services.
