NEW YORK, NY - JULY 11: Dutch tourist Bas Derksen surfs the internet while at a free Wi-Fi hotspot on July 11, 2012 in Manhattan, New York City. New York City launched a pilot program Wednesday to provide free public Wi-Fi at public phone booths around the five boroughs. The first ten booths were lit up with Wi-Fi routers attached to the top of existing phone booths, with six booths in Manhattan, two in Brooklyn, and one in Queens. Additional locations, including ones in the Bronx and Staten Island, are to be added soon. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

The government can provide free WiFi connection in Metro Manila in a year's time if provided sufficient funds, a Department of Science and Technology (DOST) official told a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

Louis Casambre, executive director of the DOST Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO), said the bill proposing free wireless connection in public areas in the country's capital region is "very implementable."

"If you consider in Metro Manila, the broadband infrastructure is quite in place, as provided by telecommunications companies. The investment will be more on operating cost and not investment cost," Casambre said during a Senate science and technology committee hearing on Tuesday.

The panel is deliberating a measure filed earlier by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto requiring the government

to provide free wireless Internet in government buildings, national highways and train stations in Metro Manila.

Casambre further said that providing free public WiFi in Metro Manila is "absolutely" necessary for economic growth.

He cited a World Bank study showing that the gross domestic product (GDP) of a country grows by 1.23 percent for every 10 percent growth in broadband penetration.

The ICTO official further said that the government may need to shell out P1 billion a year to support the free WiFi service in Metro Manila.

"For the estimates that we did, the cost of, let's say, P1 billion a year will support 90,000 simultaneous users. Of course when people access the Internet, it's not always simultaneous. If you go to that cost, it would be able to support 180,000. With a population of Metro Manila at 11 million, the amount is feasible," Casambre said. — TJD, GMA News