Once implemented, residents of Dumaguete City will soon have free wi-fi internet access in public places such as the City Hall, Quezon Park and Rizal Boulevard under the Pipol Konek project of the Department of Information & Communications Technology.
This after the City Council passed a resolution authorizing Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo to sign on behalf of the city all documents in connection to the proposed Memorandum of Agreement with the DICT represented by Sec. Rodolfo Salalima, said City Information Officer Dems Rey Demecillo in a media release Friday.
But before approving the project, Councilors Michael Bandal, Manuel Arbon, and Karissa Tolentino sought assurance from the provider that cyber crimes can be monitored and prevented.
Arbon stressed that technology is value-neutral, hence it can be used for either good or bad purposes.
Tolentino asked if DICT can assure the security of those engaged in banking transactions or when purchasing online using credit cards.
The representative of DICT said the technology is only capable of restricting access to certain sites including those with pornographic materials; while security of the financial transactions depends largely on the durability of the security encryptions that must withstand any attempt to hack the system.
Nevertheless, the free wifi is limited to a number of slots per access point, and each person is allowed free data use from 50MB to 100MB each day. This is a means to regulate the number of users, and to ensure that the speed of the internet connection remains at 256 mbps.
If the City decides to increase the number of access points to accommodate more users and expand its reach, the Mayor can make the appropriate request for additional funding from DICT. (PR)
