CICT Inks Deal with Smart; Forty Nine Public High Schools Get Free Internet

The Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with broadband service provider Smart Communications, Inc. at simple rites held at Cravings Restaurant, Katipunan Avenue this March 5, 2009. Public high school principals and partner State Universities and Colleges (SUC) implementers witnessed the event.As a result of this partnership, forty nine public high schools, all of whom are iSchools Project recipients, were awarded a year's worth of free broadband internet connection.

“One of the biggest challenges the (iSchools) project is facing is connectivity,” Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua, Chairman of the CICT, observes.

Chua elaborates, “less than half of them are already connected and that is the area that we really need help from the private sector.”

Smart Communications is more than willing to satisfy this request.

“What we're doing is creating a whole ecosystem that will allow access even at the grassroots level,” shares Salvador Vea, Chief Wireless Advisor of Smart Communications, referring to the mutual value created with the forging of this partnership.