DITO Telecommunity hauled in 12 million subscribers four months ahead of target, the newest industry player announced Monday, Aug. 29.
The telco originally projected to achieve 12 million subscribers by year-end but managed to attain the figure in less than a year and a half, as of Friday, August 26, 2022.
DITO consistently surpassed set milestones since it began commercial operations in March 2021, according to Chief Administrative Officer Adel A. Tamano.
Its fast network rollout also boosted subscriber growth, he pointed out.
After building more than 5,500 cellular towers, DITO has increased its coverage to over 600 cities and municipalities, breaching its 70 percent population coverage target.
“As we ramp up our presence throughout the archipelago, we also continue to test our 5G capability,” noted Chief Commercial Officer Evelyn Jimenez.
Already, DITO has deployed a standalone (SA) 5G network nationwide, making its architecture 5G from the ground up.
Other telco players that preceded DITO may have deployed 5G in the country first, but theirs is a non-standalone (NSA) 5G network still
assisted by their existing 4G infrastructure, she maintained.
"Since we started our roll-out in 2019, we have been developing our SA 5G network so Filipinos can experience next-generation technology," says Chief Technology Officer Rodolfo Santiago.
DITO"s goal is "to bring 5G to more areas in the country to truly transform digital connectivity and online interactions,” he explained.
5G technology provides greater capacity, wider coverage and internet connection speed 20 times faster than 4G.
Aside from internet connectivity, DITO also provides Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) and Video over LTE (ViLTE) services to subscribers.
VoLTE enables customers to make clear phone calls while maintaining fast data connection.
ViLTE allows video calls without the need for video calling mobile applications.
Meanwhile, DITO’s 5G Home Wifi attracts a growing number of users.
As of August 2022, the service has expanded to over 600 municipalities and cities in the greater Metro Manila area.