DITO reaches 13M subscribers; sees 16M by end-2024

DITO Telecommunity Corporation has passed the fifth and final government-mandated performance commitments as it reached over 86% population coverage and grew its subscriber base to 13 million as of October.

“We successfully passed our fifth and final independent audit, achieving over 86% population coverage and delivering impressive speeds of far surpassing the government’s 55 Mbps (megabits per second) minimum hurdle requirement,” DITO chief executive officer Eric Alberto said at the telco’s thanksgiving gala late Tuesday evening in Makati City.

To recall, in 2020, the company committed to cover 84% of the Philippine population and offer a minimum average speed of at least 55 Mbps by the end of five years.

“As we approach our third year since commercial launch, DITO has reached an incredible milestone—surpassing 13 million subscribers. This is not just a number; it represents the trust and confidence that millions of Filipinos have placed in us. And it is just the beginning of what we intend to achieve in the coming years,” Alberto said.

The Philippines’ so-called “third telco,” which aimed to disrupt the telecommunications industry dominated by Globe Telecom and PLDT-Smart, began its commercial operations in March 2021.

At the sidelines of the thanksgiving gala, Alberto told reporters that “we’ll try to target 16 million [subscribers] by the end of the year.”

Asked what is next for DITO after it successfully hurdled the government-mandated audit, the telco’s chief said, “It’s really monetization, prudent spending.”

The five-series audit was among the conditions set by the government when it was granted a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity in 2019.

He said that for the past five years, since it secured a license to operate as the new major telco player, DITO has spent over P250 billion to build up its network of more than 7,000 towers or cell sites.

Gaps

For 2025, Alberto said DITO is expecting “at least break even” or to start being profitable as far as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is concerned.

The DITO chief said that the telco is eyeing “to fill the gaps” as it eyes to improve telco services connectivity and speed in remote areas in the country.

National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Commissioner Ella Blanca Lopez, who was at the gala, lauded DITO’s performance, which she said “clearly reflects DITO’s commitment to meeting and exceeding regulatory requirements while contributing meaningfully to the development of digital infrastructure in the Philippines.”

Alberto said that apart from speed, DITO’s entry into the telco space has also “made connectivity more affordable, cutting internet costs dramatically.”

“In 2015, the price of data stood at $11 per GB (gigabyte); by 2022, we had reduced it over 20-fold to just $0.52 per GB. This transformation is a testament to the positive impact of healthy competition and the undeniable benefits it brings to consumers,” he said.

--VAL, GMA Integrated News