Baguio City officials and the Department of Information and Technology-Cordillera (DICT-CAR) are pushing to expand the city’s free Wi-Fi coverage after a February 16, 2026 session revealed that only 19 out of 128 barangay halls are connected, despite a 10 Gbps capacity with only about 14% currently being used.
During the February 16 regular session, the Baguio City Council received updates from the DICT-CAR, whose mandate is to provide free Wi-Fi in public places and government offices across the region, with Baguio as a major hub.
As reported, Baguio now has 65 free Wi-Fi hotspots, including the Botanical Garden, Night Market area at Burnham Park, parts of Session Road, Quezon Elementary School, Mines View Park, Happy Hallow Barangay, and the public market.
However, growing population, tourism, and digital services are straining existing access points. DICT-CAR also noted that 54 public schools in the city are already connected through a joint DICT–DepEd effort under two parallel programs: Wi-Fi for government offices and the Free Wi-Fi for All program that covers plazas, parks, the City Library, transport hubs, markets, and other public spaces, though not all schools and barangays are connected yet.
To meet increasing demand, DICT-CAR presented an updated cost estimate of around P1.3 million to expand Wi-Fi in the public market, a key component of the city’s Smart City initiative to support cashless transactions and other digital services, with MITD requesting a market study and committing funding support in coordination with DICT. The goal is to maximize the existing 10 Gbps capacity by adding more access points and improving distribution so more residents, visitors, and businesses can benefit.
Meanwhile, Councilor Van Dicang raised concerns over very slow connections in some parts of City Hall despite available bandwidth, urging better sharing of capacity across offices, while DICT acknowledged the technical challenge of integrating the city’s large network with the DICT system.
DICT-CAR further explained that while Baguio already enjoys relatively high bandwidth, third- to sixth-class municipalities remain a priority where technologies like Starlink are being used for continuous free Wi-Fi in far-flung communities.
The agency expressed readiness to partner with the city to extend bandwidth to more schools, markets, and public spaces within Baguio.
The Baguio City Council expressed support for the agreement between DICT and the city government’s finance managers. The matter was also endorsed to the City Council’s Committee on ICT chaired by Councilor Vladimir Cayabas to further assist DICT-CAR in coordinating with the Local Chief Executive on the proposed expansion. **Danella Corin David (SP PIO Intern/UB Polsci)
