Free internet folly

The public WiFi offensives of the Manila city government through Erap WiFi and later IskoNek both failed since these were money-making undertakings instead of to provide a public service.

The government obsession with providing free internet to the public always raises suspicions after the failed Pipol Konek program that was started in 2017 and wasted some P1.24 billion in public funds out of a total P10-billion package.

Just recently, the Department of Budget and Management approved the release of P2.5 billion to the Department of Information and Communications Technology for a similar project called the Free Public Internet Access Program, or FPIAP.

A Special Allotment Release Order, or SARO, was released for the FPIAP on 5 February.

Under the project, P2.4 billion was earmarked for free connectivity in public places while P50 million will fund the upgrade of WiFi networks for state universities and colleges.

Under the DICT plan, FPIAP will provide free internet access in public areas, including national government offices, public education institutions, SUCs, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority facilities, public hospitals, medical care facilities, plazas and transport terminals.

The Free WiFi for All project was envisioned even in the previous administration but it failed miserably following suspicions of corrupt practices.

Connectivity projects have long been used as a milking cow by government officials since an overprice is hard to trace and such projects have a short gestation period.

Take, for instance, the public WiFi offensives of the Manila city government with Erap WiFi and later with IskoNek which both failed since these were primarily money-making undertakings instead of to provide a public service.

The projects had a fleeting effect as after a few weeks the service became intermittent and, eventually, nobody could connect to the free system. Some of the local services were hijacked by influential families with strong connections to City Hall and appropriated for their barangays and some even for family use.

Another problem was that these free lines were infested by hackers who sought to steal key information from the users. And after installation, no maintenance or support services were provided.

The projects would have been pivotal for those who could not afford subscriptions, if they worked efficiently.

Some P1.24 billion in public funds was infused in “Pipol Konek” in 2017 alone, the Commission on Audit said in a report.

Through the assistance of the United Nations, the project would have made huge strides but instead, it was mired in anomalies, including the commissioning of a foreign contractor that turned out to have questionable capability.

The project was unusual since the United Nations Development Program was not only involved but was practically running the show as it exercised the privilege of picking the contractors.

Had the ambitious plan pulled through, the infrastructure for remote public education would have been in place and would have blunted the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education.

A CoA audit found it to have lacked “meticulous and judicious planning coupled with ineffective coordination with local government units, private suppliers and service providers.”

The CoA said that since 2015 when the project started under the name Juan Konek, the government had allotted P4.82 billion for it.

The report said 19 awarded contracts under “Pipol Konek” from March 2016 to October 2017 were either “suspended, delayed or not completed.”

Pipol Konek should have been the fulfillment of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s promise in his State of the Nation Address on 25 July 2016 where he stated that Wi-Fi access must be provided to the public at no charge.

The project should have been completed in 2018 at a total budget of some P10 billion to cover the entire country with reliable and free internet.

CoA, in a report, found that from the start the project was marred by inefficiencies and anomalies.

“Out of 15 projects which started February 2016 to July 2016, with completion dates from April 2016 to December 2016, 13 or 86.66 percent of the contracts were suspended and two had zero accomplishments,” the report added.

The CoA said that 19 contracts which started from January 2017 to October 2017 with completion dates from July 2017 to December 2017 had accomplishments that “ranged from zero to 9.52 percent and all the contracts were suspended.”

It seems that the expensive failures of the past have not deterred the internet project from being revived and at a progressively higher cost.