The BSP Wi-Fi Project
Just a few months ago it was nothing more than a lofty dream: make the entire almost 1 hectare BSP National Office compound a Wi-Fi spot to benefit the BSP professional staff as well as visiting Scouts and Scout volunteers (i.e. Scouters).
Now it is an actual project with funding from no less than the World Organization of Scouting Movements ñ Asia Pacific Region (WOSM-APR) through the APR Small Project Grant.
In about November last year, Ed Delgado, my boss both in Delbros and in BSP, asked me to write the project proposal to request for funding from the APR Small Project Grant. It was a shot in the dark… almost. That is why it came as a big pleasant surprise in early January when we heard of the news that the proposal was approved in its entirety and WOSM will be sending a USD 2 thousand check soon. USD 2 thousand is not that much if you come to think of it but it is sufficient enough to get the project started.
Last week I made an online purchase for nine units of Meraki Wi-Fi devices. By Monday (March 3) the shipment has arrived, courtesy of UPS Super Saver. E-commerce and worldwide logistics is becoming very, very efficient indeed!
In the meantime, my IT tech support ìhit squadî in Delbros, Ford Ordonez and Edmond Deus, are now preparing the bill of materials for the components to be purchased locally. Sophie Castillo of BSP Program Division will have to secure for me a Php 48 thousand cash advance from BSP. This should not be a problem considering that the US$ 2 thousand check from WOSM already arrived 2 weeks ago, waiting for me to spend. They expect to procure the items before the coming weekend.
The remaining piece to complete the picture is the DSL subscription. I am eyeing either Bayantel or Eastern Telecomms to provide this service. I am using both in Delbros and Delwater and I am quite satisfied with their services. ET’s customer support is commendable actually, especially if compared to PLDT’s. I had a very, very bad experience with PLDT in our DSL subscription in Delwater S&L. I did not waste any more time to drop PLDT in favor of Bayantel. That is why I won’t even consider PLDT as an option unless it is the only one that can offer the service in the area.
I can already see that Ford and Edmond will be very busy in the next few weeks. But I am unperturbed. We’ve been to tighter places before, and being true Scouts themselves, they are ready to make this project happen.
If everything else will happen as fast as things have been to date then the BSP National Office will be a fully operational, Meraki-powered Wi-Fi Hot Spot by April Fools Day. #
