CONVERGE ICT Solutions, Inc. is targeting to roll out free public Wi-Fi in nine airports after launching fiber connectivity at Terminal 4 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Tuesday.
Converge Chief Operations Officer Jesus C. Romero identified four investment areas for offering internet services at the terminal, namely: internet connectivity, cabling, sixth-generation wireless network or Wi-Fi 6 cabling ports, and backend operations.
According to Mr. Romero, the company will also be rolling out public Wi-Fi in Francisco Bangoy International Airport, Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the remaining terminals of NAIA, Bacolod-Silay Airport, Iloilo International Airport, Laoag International Airport, Pagadian Airport, Tacloban Airport, and Zamboanga International Airport.
Bryan Andersen Y. Co, officer-in-charge of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), said the rollout aligns with the agency’s vision of a modem airport system.
“Their (Converge’s) next rollout will be in Terminals 1 and 2, and then Terminal 3, and all of them will be rolled out within the year,” he said.
He added that internet connectivity is seen to “significantly” improve customer experience, “if they can provide two hours of free and fast internet, that is very convenient for passengers using NAIA.”
“We’ve mentioned that we really want to digitalize. We are implementing a lot of systems such as automated passenger systems and self-check-ins,” he said. “In fact, even for our operations, we already have tablets for our personnel for their flight activities. All of these require a robust Wi-Fi internet system for them to work.”
Aside from the free internet, which is seen to back up the MIAA’s move to digitalize operations at the airport, the Converge portal will allow passengers to check their flight details, which Mr. Co said is an add-on benefit to travels at NAIA.
Under the project, NAIA Terminal 4 passengers will be given access to free Wi-Fi for 120 minutes at speeds of up to 1 gigabyte per second.
The project was formalized through a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Transportation and airport operators last year. — Justine Irish D. Tabile