Google, Smart to Establish Free WiFi Stations in Philippines

[rak00n]

> PLDT-Smart Enterprise Business head Ernesto Alberto said the Google Stations would replace the existing free public WiFi provided by the telecommunications company in different locations nationwide.

So they already had free WiFi stations and now they're gonna be rebranded as Google Stations?

[axaxs]

Facebook already basically subsidizes their mobile data, too. I'm rather curious of the motivations of both companies here, to be honest.

[jbpnoy6fifty]

Honestly, the majority of the people in the Philippines are severely oppression due to status quo of greed and corruption by the upper-middle to upper classes. There is so much socioeconomic pressure to keep the working class poorer and poorer because public utilities are sometimes scarce and always expensive. Internet and electricity is "like water" in developed countries such as the United States; however, even water and electricity is expensive and scarce for the majority population of the Philippines. Keep in mind the minimum wage is around 360 Philippine pesos a day ($7 USD), while pre-paid load of 300 PHP gives you 1.5 GB of data for 30 days. Electricity is extremely expensive, especially since it's so hot, that if you run air conditioning during the summer times, the cost of electricity is at least 5000 PHP per month (~$100). The trade off is worth it. See cost of living estimates here https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Manila

[onetimemanytime]

Google and free in the same sentence...like the uncle that paid for your college, but...