Third player DITO Telecommunity Corporation Monday, (March 8) started commercial operations in 15 areas in Metro Cebu and Davao with a P199 promo for 30 days unlimited data and Dito to Dito calls and texts on Dito-compatible phones.
The third telco has a million SIM (Subsciber Identity Module) cards ready (which comes free if a user avails of the promo) and expects to launch in Metro Manila "in a few weeks", executives announced in today's virtual media briefing.
However, they refused to say if they will have an identical P199 introductory promo for Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon.
Currently, Dito's service is pre-paid on-net Short Messaging Service (SMS), voice and data in the 15 selected areas.
Right now, it is available in ten Metro Cebu areas: 1. Carcar, 2. Cebu City,3. Consolacion, 4. Danao, 5. Liloan, 6. Mandaue, 7. Minglanilla, 8. Naga, 9. San Fernando and 10. Talisay.
In Metro Davao, DITO services five areas: 1. Panabo, 2. Tagum, 3. Carmen, 4. Davao City and 5. Digos.
Subscribers of the third telco can go online (dito.ph) or visit its ten to twenty physical stores which are expected to grow to a hundred within a month.
Dito has no international roaming service yet and is still negotiating with prospective roaming partners.
The third telco will focus on mobile and fixed broadband services in its first two years, according to Chief Technology Officer Rodolfo Santiago.
"Our edge over competitors is we don't have a legacy network," he underscored.
All of the telco's network makes use of 4th Generation (4G) and 5G technology.
For this reason, "We have the unique ability to provide better service at affordable prices," he maintained.
And Chairman and CEO Dennis Uy pointed out, their business is a long-term commitment. It's not about making a fast buck.
"After overcoming hurdles and passing the technical audit of your first year of roll-out, we hope that this commercial rollout would bring about welcome dynamism to the current Philippine telecom industry," noted Department of Information Communication Technology (DICT) Secretary Gregorio Honasan.