
Google, Smart to Establish Free WiFi Stations in Philippines - oneowl
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/02/15/1893840/google-smart-establish-free-wifi-stations
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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?

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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](https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Manila)

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

