Smart Communications Inc. and the local government of Marikina have partnered to deploy WiFi sites in high foot-traffic locations to provide residents with free Internet connection.
The company said the WiFi sites will be deployed in Marikina’s barangay halls, City Hall, Freedom Park, and Public Market. Aside from this, Smart said it has fired up 5G base stations in Marikina, an initiative that it claimed to “help drive economic growth and development in the city.”
“We are honored to work with Marikina City in delivering this essential service to Marikeños. We believe that through collaborations like this, and our shared purpose of nation-building powered by good governance, we can overcome this crisis,” Smart SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business Alex Caeg said in a statement.
Smart FVP Gia Palafox added that this initiative is just a portion of its goal for Marikina.
“This is just the beginning of a long partnership. Our mission is to transform Marikina into a ‘Smart Fiber City’ through fiberization of its barangays,” she said. Mayor Teodoro hailed the program as Marikina’s first city-wide WiFi project. “I strongly believe that a digital government is a better government,” Teodoro said, adding that Marikina’s digitization initiatives cover management of critical and priority programs, particularly in disaster and health crisis management.
The deployment of Smart WiFi, 5G, and fiber across the country is in line with the PLDT Group’s long-standing commitment to help the Philippines attain the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG #9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure and SDG #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.