Capitol plans to connect entire island of Cebu to the internet

The Cebu Provincial Government wants the entire island of Cebu connected to the Internet through WiMax or Worldwide Inter-operability for Microwave Access Technology.

Malaysian company Prosat Technologies proposed a joint venture with the Cebu provincial government regarding this matter.

Prosat officials Andre Foresti, chief executive officer, and Stephen Chia, chief operating officer, recently visited the Office of the Governor to present their proposal before the economic enterprise council (EEC).

Sugbo, the Cebu Province’s official publication, reported that Prosat aims to establish high-speed broadband wireless network infrastructure for Cebu to support future information and communication technology (ICT) needs.

If this is realized, remote barangays will have access to the Internet.

Sugbo stated that one of the goals of the Provincial Government is to bring ICT to the towns.

The Capitol distributed at least 10 computers for each high school in the province.

However, Cesar Atienza, Capitol consultant on information technology, said only 42 percent of the high schools in the province have Internet connection.

”Existing internet service providers are still looking for commercial viability. They won’t go beyond the poblacion, because doing so has no attractive commercial returns and they could not survive,” Sugbo quoted Atienza.

Prosat first visited Cebu last year for the ICT summit. It is there that they were “encouraged” by Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s ICT aspirations for Cebu.

“Our vision is to develop an effective broadband wireless telecommunications facility to support government and industries, based on open global standards,” said Chia of the proposed joint venture with Cebu Province.

The Provincial EEC is still scrutinizing the proposal.

WiMax is a wireless digital communications system intended for wireless metropolitan area networks. It can provide broadband wireless access of up to 30 miles for fixed stations and three to 10 miles for mobile stations.

WiMax is similar to the more popular wireless fidelity (WiFi), but the latter is limited to 100 to 300 feet. It is gaining popularity as an alternative to cable and DSL-enabled broadband access. (PNA)