Close to a million Bayanihan SIM cards are expected to be distributed by year’s end to help about five million Filipinos in far-flung areas connect to the internet, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said on Wednesday.

In discussions following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s fourth State of the Nation Address, DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said they are fast-tracking the Bayanihan SIM Card Project as it is primarily intended to support online learning for students in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs).

The DICT has a total of 1,008,000 SIM cards to distribute until next year. Initially, the DICT projected that only around 600,000 SIM cards would be distributed this year, with the balance to be distributed in 2026.

Each SIM card comes with 25 gigabytes of usable data, which is automatically renewed monthly and valid for one year.

Given the project’s primary goal, Aguda said cell sites accommodating the Bayanihan SIM cards will be built near or at public school premises.

Telecommunications companies will put up the cell sites at no cost to the government, Aguda said.

Students and teachers are the primary beneficiaries of the project, but they can also bring the SIM cards home for their families to use, Aguda added. | PND