Resilient Education Information Infrastructure for the New Normal (REIINN) project has commenced the construction of its first LokaLTE Base Station in San Andres Elementary School, Tanay, Rizal, on 24 May 2021.

At the official groundbreaking ceremony, the Project REIINN team led by Technical Lead Philip Martinez was joined by Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Rizal Provincial Director Fernando Ablaza, Electronic Industries Association of the Philippines, Inc. (EIAPI) Vice President Vic Gruet, Department of Education (DepEd)

Rizal Education Program Supervisor in Science Robert Dela Cruz, and Tanay Municipal Mayor Rex Manuel Tanjuatco.

“DOST- Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI) initiated the Project REIINN in 2021, believing that through technology-based interventions coupled with appropriate policies, access to the internet and information in unserved and underserved areas will be the new normal,” said DOST Secretary Fortunato T. dela Peña in his message.

Funded by DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), Project REIINN focuses on the development of application frameworks and infrastructures to support the shift to remote learning and to narrow the digital divide in the country. One of the project’s initiatives is the development and deployment of small-scale, community-operated LokaLTE towers.

DOST-Undersecretary for Research and Development Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara, through a video message, shared that this milestone is only the beginning of what the project is trying to ultimately achieve; the universal connectivity as well as strengthened policy adoption on spectrum management and community networks.

On the other hand, REIINN Team Leader Martinez reiterated the importance of the project in providing equal access to the internet, thereby levelling the playing field in education. “May this groundbreaking (activity) be a trigger of many more groundbreakings in unserved and underserved communities in the Philippines, until such time that all students, regardless of where they are, have equitable access, reaping the same benefits of digital learning,” Martinez mentioned in an interview.

Moving forward, the project eyes a community in Castillejos, Zambales as its second site for LokaLTE in June 2022.

To know more about Project REIINN, visit their website page and Facebook page.