President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday said 10 million unique user devices in over 13,000 areas in the country are benefiting from the government’s free Wi-Fi program.

In his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), the Chief Executive said power and internet services are continuously being upgraded in capacity and connectivity.

“Sa ating free Wi-Fi Program, halos sampung milyong unique user devices ang nakikinabang sa libreng internet sa mahigit labintatlong libong lugar sa buong Pilipinas,” the President said.

“Nasasagap ito sa marami nating mga paaralan at mga malalayo at liblib na mga pook,” he said.

The President said his administration is establishing more free Wi-Fi sites. “Patuloy pa ang ating [pinararami] na mga libreng Wi-Fi sa buong bansa.”

The President said Phase 1 of the National Fiber Backbone has been completed and operationalized. Phases 2 and 3 have already started early this year and will be completed by 2026.

“This fiber backbone will give us sufficient capacity in terms of bandwidth,” he said.

President Marcos noted that only 77 percent or 20.6 million households were connected to the Internet, which he described as “much too low.”

“Together with our private sector partners, we will efficiently harness the concept of common towers to provide connectivity to Filipinos who are at the far end of the last mile,” he said.

“Expect full government support to ensure the successful completion of this critical project, including policy reforms and streamlined processes,” the President added. PND