CONNECTED. Learners of Sideg Elementary School in Paoay, Ilocos Norte are all smiles as they show their recently acquired internet-ready tablets on Thursday (Dec. 28, 2023). The school's internet is powered by Starlink, a satellite Internet constellation operated by American aerospace company SpaceX. (Photo by Leilanie Adriano)
LAOAG CITY – Internet connectivity at the Sideg Elementary School (SES), a rural school located on a hilltop of Paoay’s agro-forested land, got a boost with the installation of a SpaceX-powered satellite dish on Thursday.
“We are blessed in Sideg for being selected as a beneficiary of Starlink. We no longer need to search for signal and connect to a faster internet downtown whenever we need to pass our digital reports or when our students need to do their research online,” said Arlyn Dumaoal, officer-in-charge of the SES in an interview.
The school is regarded as the smallest school in the second district of the province in terms of student population as it only has 41 learners from kindergarten to Grade 6.
Alegado said the improved internet connectivity in their area would result in their competitive advantage while making the teaching-learning process more engaging and fun for them.
Sourced from the personal funds of Senator Loren Legarda, the satellite dish powered by Starlink Internet, a satellite Internet constellation operated by American aerospace company SpaceX, was installed on one of the rooftops of the school.
Legarda's chilhood nanny, "Nanay Fely," hailed from Sideg village.
“Sideg ES takes pride in having a Nanay Fely who was able to raise a senator like Ma'am Loren. We treasure all these blessings and make it useful for the children,” Madelyne Alegado, who teaches Grade 5 and 6 learners, said.
Before getting access to Starlink, the school only relied on local telcos for their internet connection.
Alvin Pascual, sales engineer officer of Data Lake PH, an authorized reseller of Starlink in the Philippines, told the Philippine News Agency that they could just detach the satellite disk and bring it down temporarily for safety during a super typhoon.
“Latency is 30 milliseconds while the download speed can be up to 500 Mbps (Megabits per second) and upload speed of up to 80 Mbps,” he said as he shared the features of the newly installed Starlink to boost the school's digital connectivity.
Aside from the SES, the Paoay East Elementary School also got the same internet upgrade.
Both schools also received a total of 90 tablets for selected learners from the senator last Oct. 28, 2023, that they can use during their information and communications technology classes. (PNA)
