The Department of Information and Communications Technology commissioned the PSRTI to conduct the first-ever user feedback analysis of the Pipol Konek: Free Wi-Fi Internet Access in Public Places, one of the flagship projects of the DICT. The project aims to provide internet connectivity in different public places including parks, plazas, public libraries, schools, government hospitals, train stations, airports, and seaports. Pipol Konek provides free public Wi-Fi access to 1,391 public places across 419 localities nationwide, and targets to cover an additional 200,000 sites as the project expands until 2026. The project also records over two million user access across all public Wi-Fi sites following its operation in 2016.

Three years into its implementation, a user feedback analysis was deemed necessary to assess the attainment of its objectives, and whether the project has enhanced the social and economic, social and educational opportunities of its target beneficiaries.

The results of the feedback analysis will provide valuable information that will be used for evidence-based policies and plans towards better implementation of Pipol Konek in the succeeding years. The project specifically aims to achieve the following:

• Know the demographic characteristics of the users of the Pipol Konek: Free Public Wi-Fi and their usage behavior
• Determine if the users of the Pipol Konek Free Public Wi-Fi have developed and increased their exposure to economic, social and educational opportunities
• Solicit feedback and recommendations from the users of the Pipol Konek: Free Public Wi-Fi

The survey was conducted in March 2019 in mature live sites across all four major geographic clusters with a total of 1,200 individual respondents: for the National Capital Region (NCR), 600 respondents; for Luzon, 100 respondents; for Visayas, 400 respondents; and for Mindanao, 100 respondents. A total of 14 live sites were included in the study which are categorized as follows: Public Schools (2), Public Plazas and Parks (4), Government Hospitals (4), Public Libraries (1), Local Government Offices (2), and State Colleges/Universities (1).