DICT to give Bayanihan SIM

to 13,000 students, teachers

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA)—At the opening of classes and the gradual shift into wider educational resource base, this year some 13,000 Boholano student learners, teachers and faculty members, beneficiaries of the government flagship social welfare program and identified individuals in geographically isolated and depressed areas to allow them internet access via mobile data.

This too as the government through the Department of Information Communication and Technology (DICT) activates 132 more free public wireless fidelity (WiFi) access points in 60 locations in Bohol by July, reports DICT Bohol chief Victor Magallanes at the Kapihan sa PIA.

This brings to Bohol a total of nearly 500 active points where everyone can connect for free in 200 locations as the “DICT Free WiFi Access to All” continues its services here.

Free wifi access to all is a DICT flagship initiative which goal is bridging the digital divide across the country fragmented by its archipelagic nature.

Mandated by the Free Internet Access in Public Areas Act or RA 10929, it provides for free internet access in public venues: plazas, schools, hospitals, government offices and geographically isolated and depressed areas to jumpstart digital inclusion and provide access to the world information superhighway and open up the markets for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to showcase their products, Magllanes explained.

However, with still limited areas with wired and wireless access, the next best thing is the Bayanihan Subscriber Information Module (SIM) Project or JuanSIM ng Bayan Program, explains DICT project development officer Engr. Jimmy Ratilla.

The Bayanihan SIM Project is another flagship initiative of the DICT aimed at expanding internet access for under-served communities, Magallanes summed.

A project which forms part of the government’s digital Bayanihan, and which supports the dictum that No Filipinos would be left without internet access, the project is implemented in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Health (DOH) and private telecommunications companies in the bayanihan concept.

The project empowers people with internet access by mobile data allocated for the SIM cards, instead of relying on the public WIFI hotspots.

During its initial roll-out in Bohol, DICT distributed 2,600 Bayanihan SIM to students and faculty members of Alicia, according to Magallanes.

The SIM packs would be loaded with 25 gigabytes worth of data connection per month, for one year, added Engr. Ratilla.

The data can not be carried over to the following month, so that they have to consume the data before the next data allocation, otherwise the remaining data is lost.

For minors, while the SIM can only be entrusted to subscribers with email addresses, the Bayanihan SIM would be temporarily given to their parents or guardians, but for the student’s use in online research and other school tasks.

The DICT has also blocked access to certain applications which students are not allowed into.

Aside from Alicia, DICT said SIM packs have been distributed to Garcia Hernandez, Dimiao, Valencia.

Phase 2 of the project expands the coverage to 13,000 SIM for 61 identified schools. (PIAbohol)