DOÑA REMEDIOS TRINIDAD, Bulacan (PIA) — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has piloted the roll-out of Bayanihan SIM Project at Kalawakan Elementary School in Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan.
About 500 initial SIM cards were distributed by DICT for free to the students and teachers of the upland school.
DICT Assistant Secretary Philip Varilla said the project is in partnership with the Department of Education, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and Globe Telecom.
“This is just the beginning of the distribution of SIM cards in 18,800 access points from Tawi-Tawi to Batanes. This is part of the effort to make internet access more inclusive and reduce the digital divide among the people living in the outskirt areas of Bulacan,” he added.
He also reminded the student-beneficiaries to use the load of the SIM card exclusively for school-related activities.
Each SIM card has 25 gigabytes per month or preferably 25 hours of wide use.
Meanwhile, DICT Project Manager for the Bayanihan SIM Project Roderick Escolango explained that having the SIM cards installed in the cellular phones of the beneficiaries, they can be easily connected to the newly constructed common towers under the Shared Passive Telecommunications Tower Infrastructure started in 2020.
A common tower was already constructed near the Kalawakan Elementary School that gives a boost to the internet connectivity in the area.
The agency has already approved the construction of additional 132 common towers nationwide on top of the current 228 tower sites. (CLJD/SFV, PIA Region 3-Bulacan)
