DITO Telecommunity launches commercially in Visayas and Mindanao
MANILA, Philippines — In an unprecedented move, DITO Telecommunity Corp., the country’s third major telco player, heralded its entry into the market by announcing that it will be providing free call and text as well as broadband services to 3,000 frontliners in 10 areas in Visayas and Mindanao.
With the help of the local government units, the telco company strengthens its commitment of nation building and partnership with the Filipino people.
Held last March 8, the announcement was capped by a ceremonial turn-over to Davao City Mayor Sarah Duterte Carpio and Davao City Vice Mayor Sebastian Duterte, as 300 frontliners from the city became the first beneficiaries out of the 3,000 targeted frontliners.
The momentous yet simple ceremony was participated by key DITO executives: Dennis Uy, chairman and CEO, Retired Major General Rodolfo Santiago, chief technology officer, and Atty. Adel Tamano, chief administrative officer; with special messages from Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gregorio Honasan II, and Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba of the National Telecommunications Commission.
An insurmountable task
In his opening statement, Santiago recounted how at the beginning critics of the initiative said that building a network in more than a year was a fool’s errand, that it was bound to fail, that it simply could not be done, especially as the global pandemic hit at a crucial juncture in the network roll-out.
However, just a few weeks before the commercial launch, DITO’s services far exceeded the required benchmarks of the first government mandated audit. The audit findings showed that DITO demonstrated an average speed of 85.9MBPS for 4G and 507.5MBPS for 5G with a population coverage of more than 37%, important indicators that point to the brand’s readiness to fulfill its mandate of bringing world-class connectivity to every Filipino.
Not resting on this achievement, the DITO chief technology officer stressed, “As we begin our commercial launch, all I can say is that there is more work to be done and together, we will succeed and make a difference in transforming the landscape of Philippine telecommunications.”
A triumph of the Filipino people
Messages from the two main regulating bodies recognized the spirit of partnership that DITO has demonstrated to become a true partner in nation-building and in bringing better access to communications technology to the Filipino people.
Honasan reiterated the importance of having the telecommunications industry to be at parity with the rest of the world, in terms of technology, and how the entry of DITO through a transparent and fair bidding has spurred an increase in investments and infrastructure spending in the telecom sector that in the long term will benefit the entire nation.
For his part, Cordoba stressed that successful launch of DITO is an example of how cooperation, and active collaboration of government and private corporations, will be key to bring about true recovery headed by advancements in the realm of communications and connectivity, and that for him is a triumph of the Filipino people.
Nation building as true motivation
In his statement, Tamano as one of the pioneers of DITO recalled how it all began: “DITO was born out of a spirit of nation-building.”
He said that the rationale for a third telco was to serve the underserved and to provide Filipinos with a better option, a wiser choice. He further recalled that our national leaders believed that without the right ICT infrastructure, without real competition, the Philippines will never reach its full potential.
“This is the genesis of this project, the origins of why DITO was born. This our why and DITO’s DNA,” he added.
“We are here to serve our consumers, to provide world-class telecommunications services to Filipinos, in short, to do whatever it takes, whatever 'diskarte' that we need to do, to deliver our promise of weaving Filipino communities together with stronger and better connectivity," Tamano added.
The Chief Administrative Officer tied it all in as to the primary reason why instead of a big launch, DITO’s first commercial act is one that demonstrates the commitment of DITO to build the nation–a provision of free service to 3,000 Filipino front liners.
DITO na tayo
“In the following weeks you will see us rise in various areas of the country. But today, March 8, we first give back to where it all began.”
In this sentimental yet powerful statement, Uy was able to answer the questions in the minds of people as to why VisMin, and when DITO services will reach Luzon and the National Capital Region in spite of the telco’s national network roll-out.
To close the event, the chairman and CEO said, “With this gesture, as a partner in nation building, we send the message to the people of the Philippines wherever they may be that DITO is more than just a telco. We are here to serve, and, in this manner, we want the entire country to know na “DITO na kami, DITO na tayo, and magkita-kita tayo diyan very soon”.
For more information on the points of sale, the attractive welcome plan and other details, please visit the official Facebook page of DITO at www.facebook.com/DITOphofficial or the website at www.dito.ph.
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