Juan, Konek! Free Wi-Fi Internet Access in Public Places Project Frequently Asked Questions

TECHNICAL QUESTIONS

  1. What is the Free Wi-Fi Internet Access in Public Places Project?

The Juan Konek Free Public Wi-Fi Project is a government project of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) that aims to provide free broadband Internet access to 1 municipalities, and cities nationwide. Its goal is to make Internet access available for all Filipinos to accelerate economic, social and educational opportunities.

Directly in line with the “Internet For All” thrust identified in the Philippine Digital Strategy 2011-2016, the Juan Konek Free Wi-Fi Internet Access in Public Places Project aims to close the Digital Divide.

  1. Where will the hotspots be located?

Through Juan Konek, Free Public Wi-Fi will be made available in public plazas and parks; public libraries, schools, colleges and universities; rural health units and government hospitals; train stations, airports, and seaports; and national and local government offices.

  1. How fast will the connection be? How much time should we expect for our regular apps to load (Facebook, Twitter, etc)?

Speed can vary from the committed rate of 512 kbps to a burst of 50 Mbps depending on:

  1. Where you are and how far you are from the Wi-Fi access point you are connected on – the nearer you are and without any obstacle such as walls or trees between you and the access point you are connected on, the faster the connection will be.
  2. What device you are using –more technologically advanced Wi-Fi devices are capable of faster data rates and have faster processing times, hence providing a relatively faster experience.
  3. How many people are currently using the Wi-Fi access point you are connected on – the lesser the people using the Wi-Fi access point you are connected on, the faster the connection will be. This factor is mitigated by the fact that the project already took into consideration the population of your municipality or city during the design.
  4. What applications or apps are you and the people around you using – the lesser the data requirements of the application or the app is, the faster data rate everyone can enjoy. Examples of applications with heavy data requirements are videos. Sites such as Wikipedia which are full of text normally require light data. The impact of this factor is mitigated by putting Fair Usage Policies.

Loading Facebook.com or any social media, logging-in then loading the wall once typically uses 2.8 to 4 megabytes of data. By doing quick mathematics, a 512 kbps connection will theoretically do all of those in 45 seconds to 1 minute.

Whenever you connect your Wi-Fi-enabled device to the Free Public Wi-Fi, your device will share what is called a Media Access Control or, MAC address, with the free public Wi-Fi network. This is a unique physical address embedded in your device’s Wi-Fi adapter, and which helps the network remember your device. The Free Wi-Fi Internet Access for Public Places network then limits your network access by remembering your MAC address.

Your maximum allowable download size varies with your level of access, though Internet speed remains constant across access levels and is kept to a minimum of 256kbps.

In general, any user will be allowed to download up to 50MB of data daily or, up to 1GB of data monthly. Users with Level 2 and Level 3 access will be permitted to download up to 100MB and 300MB of data daily, or 2GB and 3GB of data monthly.

  1. What devices can we use to connect to the Wi-Fi Internet? Will this be compatible with my mobile device? (Android, Apple, Windows)

Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and mobile devices that have Wi-Fi capability for data can access the Juan Konek Free Wi-Fi service. This also goes for desktops and laptops that have Wi-Fi receivers. Juan Konek is compatible with most Operating Systems of current mobile devices such as Google Android and ChromeOS, Apple iOS and Mac, and Windows.

  1. How do I connect to the network? (Smartphone, tablets, and laptops)

a. Turn-On the Wi-Fi feature of your device. Check your device’s manual for this. Successfully turning your Wi-Fi on would mean being able to see a list of the available Wi-Fi networks
b. Select the Juan, Konek! Free Public Wi-Fi on the available networks.
c. Wait until the Juan, Konek! Welcome Page appears, and select ENTER.

d. Choose your preferred language
e. Click on the AGREE button on the TERMS AND CONDITIONS PAGE.
f. Choose your preferred TYPE OF ACCESS:

INSTANT ACCESS provides 50 MB daily;
REGISTERED ACCESSprovides 100 MB daily

f.1 Choosing INSTANT ACCESS will automatically bring you to the Juan, Konek! Homepage. Click on the GO ONLINE button located on the bottom of the homepage in order to continue browsing.

f.2 For REGISTERED ACCESS, NEW USERS will have to create a new account and fill up the necessary fields on the screen:

  1. Email Address
  2. First Name
  3. Middle Name
  4.  Last Name
  5. ID Number and Type of Government-Issued ID
  6.  Password
  7. Confirmation of Password

f.2.1 After filling up fields with the correct information, click on REGISTER. The system will send a confirmation email to the registered account, detailing the status of your subscription. You will need to check the registered email and click on the system-generated email in order to activate your account.

f.2.2 Once the confirmation email has been processed, input your EMAIL and PASSWORD on the EXISTING LEVEL 2 USERS fields and choose SIGN-IN. You will be then directed to the Juan, Konek! Homepage.

f.2.3 To continue web-browsing, click on the GO ONLINE button located at the bottom part of the Juan, Konek! Homepage.

  1. What are the three levels of access and how do they work? Do we need to register? How?

Juan, Konek! has THREE (3) Levels of Access:

Level 1 Access: Users are given 50 MB data daily / 1 GB monthly data
Level 2 Access: Users are given 100 MB data daily / 2 GB monthly data

Level 3 Access: Users are given 300 MB data daily / 3 GB monthly data

LEVEL 1 ACCESS

Level 1 Access users have 50 MB of daily data which they can use to instantly access the Internet via their respective web browsers. No registration is needed here, and their data limit will reset at 12 A.M. the following day. Level 1 Access Users have 1GB worth of data per month.

LEVEL 2 ACCESS

Level 2 Access users have 100 MB of daily data which they can use to access the Internet via their respective web browsers. Level 2 Access Users need to register an email account to the system before they can access the Internet. Users’ data limit will reset at 12 A.M. the following day. Level 2 Access Users have 2 GB worth of data per month.

LEVEL 3 ACCESS

Juan Konek!’s Level 3 Access is still under development. Once it goes live, users are expected to have 300 MB of daily data which they can use to access the Internet via their respective web browsers. Level 3 Access Users need to register via Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) application before they can access the Internet. Users’ data limit will reset at 12 A.M. the following day. Level 3 Access Users have 3 GB worth of data per month.

*The daily and monthly allocations are only nominal values and may increase after careful study.

POLICY, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL QUESTIONS

  1. Why is there a need to provide free Internet access in public places? Why can’t we focus on improving the quality of existing private services first or something more important like poverty or civil unrest?

1.1 One major reason is accelerating Internet Literacy which, in many countries, have heavy government involvement. Countries such as Vietnam and South Korea are such countries.

1.2 The project serves as the initial market for telcos hesitant in expanding to underserved and unserved areas where market viability is low and risk is high. This involvement will catalyze the market growth and assist both the industry and society in developing the demand for internet connectivity in such areas which in turn wouldn’t just lead to a wider internet network for the country but also a more ICT engaged and enabled communities.

1.3 Poverty alleviation is one of the strongest drive of the Project. One reason for the country’s lag in developing its economy is its failure to provide quality education and employment to the less privileged. With the assistance of free internet connectivity, these shall be made more available to these people.

Data from a World Bank report suggest that for every 10 percent increase in broadband connectivity results to 1.38 percent increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As an example, the Project requires a certain capacity to be terminated in the municipality, the capacity is derived from the total population in the area. This capacity may or may not be present in the area before, due to either lack of capacity or lack of service presence or lack of viable market. Now, with the Project, the capacity is there for good and any extra capacity generated by the Project can now be sold by the service provider in the municipality. Several new Internet operators may arise from this development, allowing more Internet users in the area, also allowing Internet commerce and employment opportunities.

1.4. The issue of Civil Unrest is partly driven by poverty and the perceived lack of sufficient presence of Government in the area, one serving the best interests of the populace. The presence of a government project especially one which is evenly spread out and has the tremendous benefit an Internet connection can provide is a sufficient reason for the populace to believe and support the government. Also, the freedom the Internet provides/creates a new outlet for the dissatisfaction of the masses. As the adage says, “the pen is mightier than the sword”.

  1. Won’t this Project only worsen the country’s Cybersecurity situation?
    1. Cybersecurity or lack thereof is an issue all countries and their government face. To continue growing economically, the country must inevitably embrace the Internet and its multitude of benefits, all of which outweigh the risks. This makes it all necessary that proper education and information dissemination must be done and this can only be done by introducing a channel which accommodates this necessity. The Project, thru its user training and online help articles in the Captive Portal, shall be one of these channel along with the various plans and programs of the DICT attached agency, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center.
  1. Are there terms and conditions in effect while using the service? Where can I read it? Is it publicly available?

The terms and conditions shall be second in the series of webpages called Captive Portal that loads after you have connected to the Wi-Fi.

  1. Who is paying for the subscription of the Internet access? (Where is the budget coming from?)

The national government is paying for the subscription and maintenance fees while utility expense like electricity and space provisioning is taken cared by the local government units.

  1. Should I expect the Free Wi-Fi anywhere near me? What are the municipalities and cities covered?

All municipalities and cities are now included in the Project. You can check freepublicwifi.gov.ph/JuanKonekHotspots for further information.

  1. Up to when shall we have free Wi-Fi? Would we eventually have to pay for the service or should we expect services to be down after a few months?

Current tenders only last one year. However, various legislation efforts are underway to make the service permanent and more expansive.

  1. Will there be options to extend the free connectivity services after exhausting the data cap?

There are currently no options for this. The user can register for higher levels of the FUP.

  1. What happens if a natural calamity or any acts of nature damages or causes loss of equipment, who would be responsible in repairing the damages or replacing the loss?

The Project’s nature is MANAGED SERVICES which ensures that any calamity, loss or incidents will be rectified immediately, as stated in our contract with the Service Provider.