The third major player in the Philippines, DITO Telecommunity Corp, has signed separate agreements with infrastructure firms LCS Holdings and Sky Cable as it looks to expedite its nationwide deployment.
With the support of Filipino politician Luis Chavit Singson, DITO will lease capacity on shared towers that LCS Holdings is set to construct in “key areas” of the country, reports Business Mirror. DITO’s agreement with Sky Cable focuses on the Metro Manila area, and will see the third operator using the broadband company’s unused fibre optic cables.
Formerly known as Mislatel, DITO was awarded the Philippines’ third operating licence towards the end of 2018 but has not yet revealed when it plans to launch its network. The terms of the franchise stipulate that within its first year of operation, DITO must offer a minimum mobile broadband speed of 27Mbps in 37% of the country via capital expenditure of PHP150 billion (USD2.89 billion). Its total coverage must reach 84% by its fifth year of operation, with its capex reaching a total of PHP257 billion.
Adel A Tamano, DITO’s chief administrative officer, said: “These two deals allow DITO to tap reliable local partners and their existing telecommunication infrastructure assets to support our network rollout, without having to build everything from scratch; done to ensure that we soon deliver on our promise of faster, more affordable, and most important secure internet connectivity for our countrymen.”
