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The chief of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) believes that the roll out of the commercial operations of Dito Telecommunity Corp. will foster a healthier competition in the telco market, eventually resulting in lower prices and better service.
ICT Secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II said he is “optimistic” that telco services will improve “in the coming months” as Dito launches its commercial services in its service areas in the next few weeks.
“[W]e are confident that the Filipino people can sooner expect sustainable improvements in connectivity services moving forward,” Honasan said.
Dito introduced on Monday its commercial services in 15 cities and municipalities in the Visayas and Mindanao. It will start selling its sim cards nationwide before the end of the first half of 2021.
The third telco’s initial offer is seen to be very competitive. Its so-called “welcome offer” allows subscribers to enjoy unlimited uncapped data access with unlimited on-net calls and texts for P199 good for 30 days.
Honasan noted that Dito’s entry will force other telcos to continue to ramp up investments in the space, so as to level their services similar to the commitments of Dito, which committed to cover 84 percent of the population with a minimum average speed of 55 Mbps within its first five years of operations.
“With the private sector investing in digital infrastructure to upgrade the competitiveness of the Philippines, we hope to attract more opportunities, create more jobs, and generally improve the lives of our countrymen,” Honasan said.
He noted that the ICT department and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) will regularly check on developments in the sector, particularly investment programs of all telecom operators.
“The DICT is continuously coordinating with the NTC in monitoring the roll-out plans of all telco players following the directives of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for telcos to improve their services amid the new normal,” Honasan said.
Dito said it plans to meet its commitments ahead of schedule, as this will allow the company to capture a third of the telco market, which, according to a ranking official, is sufficient to make the third telco profitable.
Rodolfo Santiago, the company’s chief technology officer, said Dito is taking a more aggressive stance in its network rollout program, and is aiming to deliver its commitment of covering 84 percent of the population with 55 Mbps of average minimum speed “very, very early on.”
This, he said, will enable Dito to corner 30 percent of the telco market, as it expects Filipino mobile subscribers to migrate to Dito. Santiago said Dito is banking on its service offerings at lower costs to see this shift happening.
“Our target is to get 30 percent of the market as soon as possible. The easiest way to achieve this is when population coverage is at 84 percent or higher. We will be fighting toe to toe for market share,” he said.
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