DITO rollout 'on track' despite pandemic, DICT says

The Philippines’ new third telco DITO Telecommunity Corp (formerly Mislatel) is ‘on track’ to comply with the terms and conditions of its network rollout, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which has resulted in a lockdown in Luzon, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said in a statement today (16 April). DITO, a joint venture of Chinese state-owned fixed and mobile operator China Telecom Corp (40%), Dennis Uy-controlled Udenna Corp (35%), and Chelsea Logistics Holdings (25%), has not sought to push back the July deadline for it to have achieved 37% coverage (with data speeds of up to 27Mbps), DICT undersecretary Eliseo Rio told DZMM, noting that the newcomer can continue deploying equipment during the lockdown because telcos are considered ‘essential service providers’. If all goes to plan, DITO aims to launch commercial operations by March 2021, based on its operating licence.