Mayor Hernani A. Braganza and Mr. Renan B. Velonza, Board of Director and Head of Enterprise Business Group, Trends and Technologies Inc. signed the contract for Wireless Internet Connectivity for the City's Public Schools at Pension House Lucap wharf at Alaminos City.

The contract signing was witnessed by Col. Wilmer S. Panabang (DSC) Ret., City Administrator; Dr. Anastacio Domingo, Assistant Chief for Secondary Education; representing DepEd Regional Director Ligaya Soledad T. Miguel; Dr. Renato Viray, City Schools Division Superintendent; Sam Alamani, Sr. Sales Manager of the Enterprise Business Group, Trends & Technologies, Inc., and school principals.

Also present during the said affair were city councilors Constante Carasi, Joseph Bacay and SK Federation President Margielou Orange Humilde, barangay leaders, parent-teachers association presidents and student government councils.

Under the contract, Trends and Technologies, being the winning contractor, will provide the needed technologies for the said P7.2 M internet connectivity project.

For Phase 1, Trends will put up one unit sky gateway base station located at the city hall, one unit of sky connector customer equipment lighting protection and will provide 25 unit personal computer.

The Wireless Internet Connectivity Project is the expansion of the city's Computer Literacy Assistance Program, which was launched in 2004.

Other major components of the project are the establishment of a computer classroom module, the hiring of computer teachers and the development of public school information system.

The high-speed broadband internet project also seeks to achieve institutionalized good governance while creating job opportunities for the city residents for back-end IT services.

It also enhances Alaminians' competitiveness, the city's tourism potentials as well as its revenue collection capabilities and program planning and project execution.

It is our obligation as leader's regardless whether you are elected to provide not just education but quality education, said Mayor Braganza on his inspirational talk.

Braganza said education is a right, not a privilege.

Therefore, the (city) government must provide the best for the youth, foremost of which is education, the Mayor added.

Braganza pointed out that his administration had come up with these computer literacy and the wireless internet connectivity programs to raise the standard of education in the city.

The Mayor expressed confidence that with the projects that were initiated for the city's youth our students are pushed to aspire not just to get better grades but to finish their studies, land a job and be of great help to their families.”

Also, for our educators not just to teach but to became true parents of students in order to produce more educated, morally upright and responsible citizens in the future.

For his part, Dr. Viray said Mayor Braganza's newest brainchild jumpstarts a revolution in the city terms of the delivery of a quality education to all of the city' 43 public schools.

He stressed that the city is very fortunate for having leaders who have the hearts and for continuously minding on the utmost welfare his citymates, especially the youth.

The Alaminos Division chief then thanked the current administration for inspiration and motivation to fully addressed all the education needs of the city's children, thereby, ensuring their future growth and development.

Complementing Viray's message, Dr. Domingo extended DepEd's sincere appreciation and congratulations to the chief executive for realizing a worthy and timely initiative for the city's children.

Domingo said setting-aside huge sum from its Special Education Fund to benefit the youth and education sector as well the communities speak volume of the city government's desire to change the face of education in Alaminos.

With the dynamic leadership and vision of Mayor Braganza, DepED expects more interesting and beneficial projects for young Alaminians, added the regional ICT coordinator.

Meanwhile, Velonza confirmed that the city's internet project is the first of its kind in Region I, if not in the entire country.

He said some key cities in Metro Manila thought of it few years ago but not a single LGU come close of realizing it.

Velonza said his company is very grateful and excited to start this multi-million project.

He cited that his company is looking forward to a lasting partnership with the city government in its quest of building a competitive and innovative human resource.

Velonza disclose that at least 10,590 students will directly benefit in the project's initial phase alone.

And among the project beneficiaries who praised the Mayor's initiative was Ryan Christopher Eden, president of the Student Government of Alaminos City National High School (ACNHS).

Eden said through internet, student like him could have an easy access to wide-range and an array of information in seconds for free.

As a student leader, he even vowed to encourage all the internet users in all schools to take good care of the valuable gift given to them by the city government.

Also took their turn to thank the government for the laudable project were Brgy. Captain Jimmy Sarmiento, Councilor Humilde and Mr. Godofredo Tangalin Sr, in behalf of the Liga Ng Mga Barangay, SK Federation and the ACNHS Parent-Teachers Association, respectively. (CIO)

Source: The City of Alaminos, Pangasinan website

About Trends & Technologies, Inc.
Trends & Technologies, Inc. is a leading Systems Integrator and Solutions Provider for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the Philippines. With fifteen (15) years experience in Communications, Trends has evolved through the years to adapt to the changing ICT landscape, and is successfully bringing to new businesses such as Contact Centers the technology and support to be competitive. For more information about Trends & Technologies, visit www.trends.com.ph.

About SkyPilot Networks
SkyPilot Networks is the leading provider of carrier-class wireless mesh solutions that enable service providers, municipalities, and public safety agencies to rapidly deploy cost-effective broadband access, voice over IP, public and private Wi-Fi access, video surveillance, and other wireless applications. The SkyPilot solution utilizes a patent-pending synchronous mesh architecture with high-speed switched directional antenna arrays that extends reach, mitigates interference, and maximizes spectral reuse. The result is a highly scalable, reliable, and deterministic mesh network that simplifies design, increases deployment flexibility, and dramatically reduces equipment and operating costs. SkyPilot has proven scalability and reliability with over 25,000 units shipped to more than 300 customers in 50 countries. SkyPilot is a privately held company based in Santa Clara, California.

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