Juan, Konek! FAQs Answered

FAQ of Juan, Konek. The Free Wifi Program of the government. Photo: DICT

1. What is the Free Wi-Fi Access in Public - Places Project?

The Juan Konek Free Public Wi-Fi Project is a government project of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) that aims to provide free broadband Internet access to 1 municipalities, and cities nationwide. Its goal is to make Internet access available for all Filipinos to accelerate economic, social and educational opportunities. Directly in line with the “Internet For All” thrust identified in the Philippine Digital Strategy 2011-2016, the Juan Konek Free Wi-Fi Internet Access in Public Places Project aims to close the Digital Divide.

2. Where will the hotspots be located?

Through Juan Konek, Free Public Wi-Fi will be made available in public plazas and parks; public libraries, schools, colleges and universities; rural health units and government hospitals; train stations, airports, and seaports; and national and local government offices.

3. How fast will the connection be? How much time should we expect for our regular apps to load (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)?

Speed can vary from the committed rate of 512 kbps to a burst of 50 Mbps depending on:

1. Where you are and how far you are from the Wi-Fi access point you are connected on - the nearer you are and without any obstacle such as walls or trees between you and the access point you are connected on, the faster the connection will be.
2. What device you are using –more technologically advanced Wi-Fi devices are capable of faster data rates and have faster processing times, hence providing a relatively faster experience.
3. How many people are currently using the Wi-Fi access point you are connected on - the lesser the people using the Wi-Fi access point you are connected on, the faster the connection will be. This factor is mitigated by the fact that the project already took into consideration the population of your municipality or city during the design.
4. What applications or apps are you and the people around you using – the lesser the data requirements of the application or the app is, the faster data rate everyone can enjoy. Examples of applications with heavy data requirements are videos. Sites such as Wikipedia which are full of text normally require light data. The impact of this factor is mitigated by putting Fair Usage Policies.

Loading Facebook.com or any social media, logging-in then loading the wall once typically uses 2.8 to 4 megabytes of data. By doing quick mathematics, a 512 kbps connection will theoretically do all of those in 45 seconds to 1 minute. Whenever you connect your Wi-Fi-enabled device to the Free Public Wi-Fi, your device will share what is called a Media Access Control or, MAC address, with the free public Wi-Fi network. This is a unique physical address embedded in your device’s Wi-Fi adapter, and which helps the network remember your device. The Free Wi-Fi Internet Access for Public Places network then limits your network access by remembering your MAC address. Your maximum allowable download size varies with your level of access, though Internet speed remains constant across access levels and is kept to a minimum of 256kbps. In general, any user will be allowed to download up to 50MB of data daily or, up to 1GB of data monthly. Users with Level 2 and Level 3 access will be permitted to download up to 100MB and 300MB of data daily, or 2GB and 3GB of data monthly.

4. What devices can we use to connect to the wi-fi internet? Will this be compatible with my mobile devices (Android, Apple, Windows)?

Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and mobile devices that have Wi-Fi capability for data can access the Juan Konek Free Wi-Fi service. This also goes for desktops and laptops that have Wi-Fi receivers. Juan Konek is compatible with most Operating Systems of current mobile devices such as Google Android and ChromeOS, Apple iOS and Mac, and Windows.

5. How do I connect to the network?

a. Turn-On the Wi-Fi feature of your device. Check your device’s manual for this. Successfully turning your Wi-Fi on would mean being able to see a list of the available Wi-Fi networks 
b. Select the Juan, Konek! Free Public Wi-Fi on the available networks. 
c. Wait until the Juan, Konek! Welcome Page appears, and select ENTER. 
d. Choose your preferred language 
e. Click on the AGREE button on the TERMS AND CONDITIONS PAGE. 
f. Choose your preferred TYPE OF ACCESS: INSTANT ACCESS provides 50 MB daily;REGISTERED ACCESSprovides 100 MB daily 
f.1 Choosing INSTANT ACCESS will automatically bring you to the Juan, Konek! Homepage. Click on the GO ONLINE button located on the bottom of the homepage in order to continue browsing. 
f.2 For REGISTERED ACCESS, NEW USERS will have to create a new account and fill up the necessary fields on the screen:

1. Email Address
2. First Name
3. Middle Name
4.  Last Name
5. ID Number and Type of Government-Issued ID
6.  Password
7. Confirmation of Password

f.2.1 After filling up fields with the correct information, click on REGISTER. The system will send a confirmation email to the registered account, detailing the status of your subscription. You will need to check the registered email and click on the system-generated email in order to activate your account. 
f.2.2 Once the confirmation email has been processed, input your EMAIL and PASSWORD on the EXISTING LEVEL 2 USERS fields and choose SIGN-IN. You will be then directed to the Juan, Konek! Homepage.
f.2.3 To continue web-browsing, click on the GO ONLINE button located at the bottom part of the Juan, Konek! Homepage.

6. What are the three level of access and how do they work? Do I need to register? How?

Juan, Konek! has THREE (3) Levels of Access: Level 1 Access: Users are given 50 MB data daily / 1 GB monthly data Level 2 Access: Users are given 100 MB data daily / 2 GB monthly data Level 3 Access: Users are given 300 MB data daily / 3 GB monthly data LEVEL 1 ACCESS Level 1 Access users have 50 MB of daily data which they can use to instantly access the Internet via their respective web browsers. No registration is needed here, and their data limit will reset at 12 A.M. the following day. Level 1 Access Users have 1GB worth of data per month. LEVEL 2 ACCESS Level 2 Access users have 100 MB of daily data which they can use to access the Internet via their respective web browsers. Level 2 Access Users need to register an email account to the system before they can access the Internet. Users’ data limit will reset at 12 A.M. the following day. Level 2 Access Users have 2 GB worth of data per month. LEVEL 3 ACCESS Juan Konek!’s Level 3 Access is still under development. Once it goes live, users are expected to have 300 MB of daily data which they can use to access the Internet via their respective web browsers. Level 3 Access Users need to register via Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) application before they can access the Internet. Users’ data limit will reset at 12 A.M. the following day. Level 3 Access Users have 3 GB worth of data per month. *The daily and monthly allocations are only nominal values and may increase after careful study.