Governor Joseph C. Cua and two municipal mayors have expressed serious interest in acquiring subscriptions to the Starlink satellite internet service following a demonstration of the unit conducted by youth group Sinag Kabataan.
In his courtesy visit to the chief executive last March 21, 2023, Sinag chairperson Fred Benedict T. Gianan introduced the Tesla-made Starlink satellite internet unit and discussed its potential benefit to isolated barangays and municipalities lacking internet access, especially in improving disaster response communications and providing equitable access to education for students.
Gov. Cua appreciated the overview of the group’s advocacy project and pledged to collaborate in exploring ways to make the technology more widely available to people in the province.
Aside from bringing the internet to so-called Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAS) barangays, it will also providing an alternative for Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) offices as far as communications is concerned during and after disasters aside from giving barangay officials access for exercising their functions.
In San Miguel town, Mayor Francisco T. Camano Jr. had the unit tested in the municipal compound and came away impressed by its capability.
He plans to acquire several units to be deployed in mountain villages where even cellphone signals are either weak or absent altogether.
In Bato, Mayor Juan T. Rodulfo had the opportunity to talk with teachers at Bote Integrated School in a video call using the unit that was brought by Sinag chair Gianan to the school.