Volunteers are working to give Rental HDB Blocks of $3 for a month Wifi Access
One of the local non-profit Bringing Love to Every Single Soul (BLESS)
A group f volunteers has somehow offers a block wide Wifi internet access at broadband speeds where each household at 10 floor of this densely packed of 249 one and two-room flats can enjoy the “Building Digitally Inclusive Communities (BDIC)” project success with their plan and the multiple access point is mounted in the common corridors which will create a WiFi network which covers all units in the block.
One of the resident of Block 188, Maria Tulkabtiah Binte Wari is one of the keen supporters of the initiative and being able to get internet access of $3 per month will help out a lot for the mother of three as the family’s monthly internet bill is around $60. As 23 per cent of household in Block 188 do not have internet access at home and for Maria and her family, the internet is used to connect with family members n Malaysia for regular video calls since visiting is temporarily out of the question.
Seeking and asking for HDB residents on the $3 monthly internet access
Where Maria also uses educational videos and other free online learning materials with her children required to learned alphabet, recognize colors, shapes and numbers thanks to online content. This idea of providing free WiFi germinated in April 2020 during the Circuit Breaker time and the founder of local non-profit Bringing Love to Every Single Soul (BLESS) which conducts activities such as reading programs for children in rental flat communities. Then Wah and her fiancé Jeremy Ong agreed to take on the role of project leads in BDIC after crossing party with Johann Annuar that both organizations share a common goal of digital inclusion for low income families.
The BDIC group
Now if BDIC succeeds, Block 188 will be the first block of rentals flats to have block wide internet access and the idea of providing Wifi access to an entire block was actually borrowed from other practice from some condominium complexes in Singapore. This Wifi project where it focuses on four “E” which is Equip students with laptops, Emporing them with digital literacy skill, Enable wifi access and Elevate the IT capabilities within the communities.
Currently, BDIC is speaking to corporate sponsors who may potentially come on board to cover the initial set up cost where the estimated cost of internet access for each household should work out to around $3 each month which included equipment and maintenance. The project has reached a major milestone in December 2020 with a successful on site test and with the on site test’s technical specification the team has since submitted their proposal to the Housing and Developemtn Board (HDB) and the project will be on track within the year and it will then rolled out to other rental blocks as well.
The wifi router being allocated at certain point to boost signal on whole block