Makati City 2nd district Rep. Luis Campos Jr. (Facebook)

The government’s free Internet for all program will receive P7.5 billion in fresh funding this year in the effort to activate thousands of new password-free public Wi-Fi hotspots.

Thus, said Makati City 2nd district Rep. Luis Campos Jr., who noted that the allocation was tripled from 2024. He said the goal is to reach 50,000 public hotspots for easy Internet access.

“In the 2025 General Appropriations Law, we earmarked P7.5 billion for the Free Wi-Fi for All Program. This amount is three times the P2.5-billion allocation for the program in 2024,” said Campos, a vice chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations.

“We are counting on the expansion of free Wi-Fi hotspots to improve public access to online learning and distance education, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas,” he added.

Campos also expressed his high hopes that the free Internet connections would help Filipinos in rural communities access valuable online resources, including government skills training services, which could assist them in securing new employment and livelihood opportunities.

Meanwhile, the Makati solon renewed his call for Congress to pass a new law that would enable regulators to compel private telecommunications companies (telcos) to deliver faster mobile internet speeds.

“We need faster mobile internet speeds to boost productivity. Slow internet speeds result in productivity loss,” Campos, the husband of Makati Mayor Abby Binay, said.

Campos is running for Makati mayor in the May 12 mid-term elections, while his wife is seeking a Senate seat.

Ookla’s December 2024 Global Speedtest Index report showed that the Philippines’ average mobile internet speed remains sluggish at 36.36 megabits per second (Mbps) — significantly below those of its Southeast Asian peers, such as Thailand (65.47 Mbps), Vietnam (86.96 Mbps), Malaysia (105.36 Mbps), and Singapore (129.13 Mbps).

Campos has been advocating for the passage of his House Bill (HB) No. 10215, which seeks to classify high-speed internet as a basic telecommunications service to which every Filipino has a right of access, rather than a value-added service.

The reclassification would empower the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to set rising minimum mobile internet speed targets that telcos must meet within prescribed deadlines.

Telcos failing to meet the minimum speed targets would face fines of up to P1 million per day, or P365 million per year, until they achieve compliance.