Philippines-based telecom operator Dito Telecommunity has revealed it is planning to launch in the country by March next year, media reports said. The telco also said it is confident it will pass the government technical audit which is due next year.
The telco earlier planned to launch at the beginning of this year; however, the plan was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Dito, which is a joint venture between Udenna Group and China Telecom, is looking to clear the technical audit during January 2021, its chief administrative officer Adel Tamano said.
DITO chief technology officer Rodolfo Santiago revealed that the telco has deployed around 1,532 towers across the Philippines. While it is rapidly adding to its capacity, currently it has the capacity to connect 37 percent of the population to connectivity speeds of 27 mbps. The telco plans to have around 2,000 towers by the end of the year to almost cover half of the country’s population.
He told the media, “Safely, with 2,200 towers will cover the minimum 51 percent coverage. But we’re not targeting just 51 percent – just like the 37 percent, we want the margin to be very, very safe so that our confidence of meeting our technical audit will be quite not challenging already.”
Dito has teamed up with Udenna Infrastructure Corp (UIC) to carry out part of its mobile network rollout in the Philippines. It was reported by the local media that UIC will also construct Dito’s tower network as well as the deployment of its fibre optic cables.
Dito will be the third major telco in the Philippines after it launch. Currently, Globe Telecom and PLDT runs a duopoly market in the country when it comes to the telecom sector.