Dito subscribers hit 10 million mark

MANILA, Philippines — New market entrant Dito Telecommunity Corp. registered more than 10 million subscribers as of July, up tenfold from just one million a year ago.

The company targets to register at least 12 million subscribers by the fourth quarter.

As its market reach and subscription level grow, Dito expects internal and external challenges, especially as it tries to break into segments held by the telco giants.

Dito chief technology officer Rodolfo Santiago said the telco provider has agreed to an independent audit to determine its progress on network reach.

The telco is mandated by the government to expand its footprint to 70 percent of the population within the month.

Santiago believes Dito will pass the regulatory audit, having put up more than 5,500 towers that can service over 600 areas nationwide.

The company plans to build another 2,000 towers in a bid to cover 76 percent of the population in 840 cities and municipalities nationwide.

However, Santiago said Dito may face difficulty connecting to the remaining 20 percent of the population, as most of them live in island communities far from urban centers.

Santiago said expanding to remote areas demand innovations like satellite technologies, as well as costly infrastructure such as submarine cables.

Dito chief administrative officer Adel Tamano said the telco would persevere in coming up with services that can hold up with those of its competitors.

He said Dito would keep on working to widen its market share with the ambition of becoming number one in the future.

Dito accounted for just   one percent of the mobile operators market share as of the first quarter, according to GSMA Intelligence, a specialist in mobile industry insights.

Globe Telecom Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. accounted for 54 percent and 45 percent of the pie, respectively.

Dito, a joint venture between Dennis Uy’s Udenna Group and Beijing-run China Telecom Corp., plans to spend P50 billion this year for its infrastructure expansion.