Competition in the telecom industry is expected to further intensify starting this month as network expansion by the telcos continues to address the rising demand for better internet services.
DITO Telecommunity Corp. is on track to expand its coverage to 70 percent of the population this year, while PLDT Inc. and its wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. have tripled their international bandwidth capacity with the inauguration of the Jupiter Cable submarine cable system in Daet, Camarines Norte.
In a statement, Adel Tamano, DITO chief administrative officer, said he is bullish that the market will witness full-blown competition among telecom operators once DITO covers 70 percent of the population this July, as part of its mandate stipulated in its certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the National Telecommunications Commission in 2019.
“We are confident that DITO can go head-to-head with the other two major players as penetrating more areas means we capture more share in the market. In the process, Filipino consumers will benefit from this increased competition, with companies racing to provide the best connectivity and the best value for services,” Tamano said.
For 2022, DITO has earmarked P50 billion to reach more Filipinos and targets to be commercially available in more than 840 areas nationwide.
DITO said as of June, it exceeded the nine-million subscriber mark and is well-positioned to hit 12 million by the end of the year. It is now present in more than 600 cities and municipalities.
PLDT, for its part, said the Jupiter Cable System, which serves as an international highway for global data traffic to reach the Philippines, is expected to exponentially boost the country’s international capacity to the United States and Japan, further encouraging the global trade of digital services.
The Jupiter Cable System is the latest addition to PLDT’s 16 international cables routing critical data traffic going in and out of the country. It traverses the Pacific Ocean from North America connecting directly to Maruyama and Shima in Japan and to Daet in the Philippines.
It is now the fastest cable system between the Philippines and the US, PLDT said. Once fully equipped, it is anticipated to increase PLDT’s international capacity of 20 Terabit/s to about 60 Terabit/s.
“The PLDT Group has robust domestic and international cable systems with an unrivaled capacity among local providers. Our expansive participation in international submarine cable systems, especially now with Jupiter, enables our initiatives to support hyperscalers — the next growth engine of the country’s digital economy,” said Gene Sanchez, PLDT Enterprise vice president and head of global capacity strategy.
Meanwhile, Globe Telecom Inc. yesterday said it supports the legislation that seeks to digitalize government processes, in line with the administration’s goal to streamline transactions in state agencies for public benefit.
“We welcome the move towards digital tools and processes in government. This will help speed up transactions with government agencies, from getting necessary documents for school or employment to securing business permits and registration,” said Ernest Cu, Globe president and chief executive officer.
“Digitalization offers convenience and ease of doing routine transactions. It saves time and effort that would be spent in interminable queues which is very unproductive. Ultimately, the digital shift will help reinvigorate our economy whose strength lies in our people,” Cu said.
Globe said its network is ready to enable the government’s digitalization goals, as it has been boosting coverage with infrastructure investments to achieve a #1stWorldNetwork.
In the first quarter of the year, Globe built 234 new cell sites, upgraded 3,500 mobile sites, installed 380 more 5G sites and rolled out 470,000 more fiber-to-the-home lines.
The company said these initiatives form part of the P21 billion capital expenditure for the same period, or 24 percent of its P89-billion full year capex guidance.
