LAOAG CITY — High school students from Caloocan City developed an affordable and eco-friendly solution to provide Wi-Fi access to students — a project they call “Paper Wi-Fi.”
During the Grassroots Innovation and Circular Economy Expo (GICE) 2025 of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on Friday in Batac, Ilocos Norte, students Ayessa Bataan, Marivine Manalang, Kristoph Abanid, and Sean Anatang from Caybiga High School in Caloocan said their invention was born out of a simple but urgent need: internet access at their school.
“We noticed that the internet access was lacking, especially in our school,” Bataan told The Manila Times in an interview.
The machine accepts any kind of paper — scratch, pad, or yellow pad — into the machine, then offers internet access in exchange.
Infrared sensors inside the machine detect the paper and then provide it with internet access.
For every sheet inserted, the system grants one minute or 50 MB of Wi-Fi access.
“So if you want it to last for 1 hour, you only need to load 60 sheets of paper,” Manalang added.
The collected paper by the machine is then recycled or sold to help sustain the system and pay for internet costs.
The students said the machine, which was developed in just two months, still needs to be improved.
“We intend to add an automatic shredder inside the system, so that the inserted papers can be shredded, and it’s easy to recycle,” Bataan said.
The students hope that their machine can get patented.
Anthony Sales, regional director of DOST Davao, told The Manila Times that some innovators struggle with intellectual property protection for grassroots innovations.
“Many of their innovations can be registered as utility models. Some can be registered as patents and industrial design,” he pointed out.
The DOST, he said, will help expedite the registration process and even fund the cost of patenting for these innovators.
The GICE, now in its third year, aims to promote and commercialize these homegrown innovations. “It’s a matter of linking them to the market,” Sales said.
The young innovators of Paper Wi-Fi are hopeful about the future. “If we’re given the opportunity to commercialize our project, we’re open to it,” Bataan said.
The school, they note, is supportive and willing to help scale the project further. ALLEN LIMOS
