Photo Release

Poe laments poor internet services in country: Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson of the Committee on Public Services, presides over the virtual hearing Monday, December 7, 2020 looking into the renewal of a franchise granted to Dito Telecommunity Corporation, formerly Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc., and the granting of a franchise to a new applicant, Instant Data, Inc. “Due to the pandemic that led us to be dependent on everything online, we are now more painfully aware of the sad state of internet services in our country,” Poe said. She cited a Department of Information and Communications Technology national household survey which showed that almost 64 percent of Filipino communities have no telco towers in their areas. According to the survey, 84 percent of Filipinos have no internet access while 70 percent of barangays have no fiber optic cables and almost 88 percent of barangays have no access to free wifi even though the country has a free wifi law. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)