Travelers who go through the Bacolod-Silay International Airport are going to enjoy a richer digital experience with the upgrade of the terminal’s data connectivity by PLDT and their wireless subsidiary Smart Communications.
In a simple ceremonial switch on at the CAAP function at the airport, guests were treated to a first-hand experience of how fast the free Wifi connection at the airport was like. With a bandwidth of up to 1 gigabit per second, airport Wifi users will have the best customer experience–whether surfing the web for their favorite sites or just keeping connected with home and office while traveling.
The installation of tje Smart Wifi in the Bacolod Airport comes on the heels of similar initiatives in Davao City’s Francisco Bangoy International Airport, Misamis Oriental’s Laguindingan Airport, Iloilo International Airport and the Clark International Airport. There will be a total of 21 airports that will be powered up by Smart this year.
“A tourist’s impression of a country will be largely based on the first and last experience of his destination. Smart Wifi contributes to improving this experience and to the success of having them come over and visit again,” said Transportation Undersecretary Roberto Lim during the rollout in Davao City’s airport.
The Bacolod-Silay airport is the primary gateway to Negros Island, and is one of two active airports serving Negros Island, the other being the Dumaguete Airport in Sibulan, Negros Oriental. It accounts for about a fifth of the air passenger traffic in Western Visayas. The government has earmarked over P20 billion for the upgrade of the airport under the private-public partnership (PPP) scheme. The project covers the expansion of the passenger terminal building, which will boost its capacity to about 3.1 million passengers annually.
“In this digital age, data connectivity is important especially when one is on the go. With Smart Wifi, travelers will get to enjoy a seamless digital experience for more productive and meaningful journeys,” said Eric R. Alberto, EVP for PLDT/Smart, and president and CEO, ePLDT.
During the ceremonies, guests were asked to log on to the video sharing website, YouTube, and we experienced that there was absolutely no buffer time while watching our videos.
The Bacolod, Iloilo, Laguindingan and Davao airports are among the 21 key transport hubs identified by the DOTr for installation of Smart Wifi. This development has a budget of P1 billion and is aimed to bring the internet into the hands of more Filipinos all over the country. The rollout includes all four passenger terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as well as airports in Dumaguete, Kalibo, General Santos, Clark, Laoag, Cebu, Caticlan, and Zamboanga. Also in the list are key seaports in Southern Luzon as well as MRT 3, and LRT lines 1 and 2 for Metro Manila.
Smart Wifi’s footprint will also be expanded to cover more public areas, such as city halls, schools, hospitals, and establishments such as malls, restaurants, and coffee shops, among many others, amid the increasing demand for more public Wifi hotspots in the country. They will also be placing Smart Wifi zones in public areas in the barangay level to make information more accessible for every Pinoy.
The Smart Wifi nationwide deployment is backed by the PLDT Group’s robust and resilient fixed and wireless networks.
