BONTOC, Mountain Province(PIA)--Six  remote  barangays  in Mountain Province will have free internet access soon.

Department of Information and Communications Technology(DICT)- Cordillera  Regional Director Reynaldo T. Sy, and Governor Bonifacio C. Lacwasan Jr. led the turn over of Starlink satellites for the connectivity to representatives of recipient barangays  on January 24 at the provincial capitol quadrangle.

The recipient barangays are Saclit in Sadanga;  Saliok in  Natonin; Laylaya in  Besao; Bunot in  Paracelis; Lingoy in  Barlig, and Capinitan in Sabangan.

This connectivity project is part of the Marcos administration’s  push to  narrow the so-called digital divide in the country, and  DICT’s  mission to reach and connect geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas..

It  is under Free Wi-Fi for All Program,  which aims to provide internet services to develop knowledge in the digital space, and improve lives of Filipino people.

“Our goal  is to move towards digital transformation where no one is left behind. Through the provision of internet connectivity especially in underserved communities, we hope to empower, enable, transform, and promote digital inclusivity,” Sy said.

He  urged the officials of six  barangays to make the internet service open and accessible to the public.

“We kindly request our beneficiaries, especially the barangays, to make internet service available to the public and inform everyone in your community that there is internet access in your barangay,” he said.

Lacwasan expressed gratitude to the DICT for the project, which he said, will tremendously help children  in their studies,  especially in  doing research using the internet.

“Thank you so much, DICT, for granting this project. This is a tremendous help for us in the mountains, especially for the municipalities that have limited access to WiFi. We hope to maximize the benefits and minimize the challenges,” he said.

DICT-CAR teams have  started  installing  the  satellites in Sabangan, Besao and Sadanga on Jan. 25, and in  Barlig, Natonin and Paracelis  on Jan. 26.

Meanwhile, Lacwasan  announced that the provincial government will  allocate a portion of the provincial government lot for the construction of the DICT-Mountain Province office through a usufruct agreement.(JDP/CVBT-PIA Mt. Province)