The country’s third telecom operator is aggressively expanding its network coverage to deliver superior internet speed while an incumbent player has achieved a top speed score of 86.52 in 2022, affirming its dominance and consistent performance in delivering the country’s fastest internet speeds for the fifth consecutive year. DITO Telecommunity Corp. said is allocating P27 billion for capital expenditure (capex) this year to achieve its committed network coverage and speed, according to Rodolfo Santiago, DITO chief technology officer.
Currently, Santiago said, DITO’s network rollout has reached 77 to 78 percent, around 2 percentage points away from the target network coverage of 80 percent by July 8, 2023, when the telco is set to undergo its fourth audit.
“We have a general commitment to nation building, serving the unserved and underserved areas,” Santiago said.
DITO said it is focused on achieving its capex and operating expenditure rollout network coverage plan and speed for the five-year period under its certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN).
As of end-2022 and 2021, DITO has spent a total of P230.5 billion and P148.2 billion, respectively, for its capex requirements for its rollout.
DITO intends to partner with a satellite company to cover the remaining 5 percent of the country which is part of its five-year rollout commitment with the government.
“We have preliminary talks with a satellite technology company in this challenging area, microwave and fiber; to connect these areas you need a satellite technology partner, when we roll out in those areas,” Santiago said.
The consortium has committed to spend P257 billion in its first five years of operation, and gradually increase its coverage from 37 percent to 85 percent of the population on the fifth year, and to deliver a minimum internet speed of 27 megabits per second (Mbps) on the first year and increase this to 50 Mbps in the succeeding four years.
In a press briefing, Adel Tamano, DITO chief administrative officer, said the telco generated P7.3 billion revenues last year by offering just a prepaid service, and this is seen to grow further with the launch of its postpaid and enterprise business this year.
As of April 25, DITO had a total of 6.1 million registered subscribers which is equivalent to 40.8 percent of its total 14.9 million subscribers as of the end of December last year.
Meanwhile, PLDT said it has consistently dominated the Ookla Speedtest awards for five consecutive years as a result of its aggressive network expansion and drive to lift the quality of customer experience.
The PLDT Group has been supporting the country’s digitalization by bringing the benefits of connectivity and other digital services to more areas in the Philippines. In 2022, PLDT recorded a total of 6.08 million fiber-powered ports, covering around 17,700 barangays across the country.
“PLDT’s commitment is to help build and empower the nation by setting the bar high in providing world-class digital services for Filipinos,” said Alfredo Panlilio, PLDT president and chief executive officer.
“For the past five years, PLDT has made big strides to elevate our customers’ experience by delivering the best fixed network services. We intend to keep this momentum and to go above and beyond in ensuring that our customers get the best digital experience wherever they need it — at home, school, or the office,” he added.
PLDT remains the only telco in the Philippines that can deliver the fastest fiber optic speeds of up to 10 Gbps, which was made available to the public as early as 2021. This groundbreaking move has placed the Philippines alongside first-world nations in terms of ultra-fast internet speeds, including South Korea, Japan, Norway, Italy, New Zealand and the United States.
