Dito Telecom passes 1st technical audit —NTC

Dito Telecommunity Corp. was able to deliver on its commitments for its first year of operations based on the findings of the technical audit conducted by independent auditor R.G. Manabat and Co., the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) reported Monday.

The technical audit started on January 7, 2021, after the NTC issued a resolution to extend the audit which was earlier scheduled in July 2020, marking one year after Dito was awarded its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) on July 8, 2019.

As part of its commitments, Dito vowed to deliver 37.03% national population coverage within a minimum average broadband speed of 27 megabits per second (Mbps) in its first year of operations, else risk losing its P24-billion performance bond. Other commitments have also been made for the following years.

In its technical audit, R.G Manabat and Co. said Dito's first-year national population coverage reached 37.48% or 37,845,315 based on the 2015 national census population of 100.983 million, reaching coverage of 88,609 barangays.

Meanwhile, the report indicated that the minimum average broadband speeds were recorded at 85.9 Mbps for 4G and 507.5 Mbps for 5G. This was faster near base stations at 102.4 Mbps for 4G and 769.1 Mbps for 5G while those far from base stations experienced speeds of 64.4 Mbps for 4G and 316. Mbps for 5G.

"Dito's entry in the market is a welcome development in the telco industry. A healthier competition within the industry fulfills President Duterte's promise to the Filipino people of better telco service thru cheaper prices and improved internet speed," the NTC said in its statement.

The Dito consortium is made up of Uy's Udenna Corporation, Udenna's subsidiary Chelsea Logistics Holdings Inc., and Chinese state-owned China Telecommunications Corporation. It has scheduled its commercial rollout in March. —LDF, GMA News