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Dito Telecommunity
FormerlyMindanao Islamic Telephone Company (1998–2019)
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryTelecommunications
FoundedDavao City, Philippines
April 19, 1998; 26 years ago (1998-04-19)[1][2]
Headquarters
Udenna Tower, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Metro Manila
,
Philippines[3]
Area served
Philippines
Key people
ProductsCall and Text messaging services, Mobile internet
RevenueIncrease PH₱2.3 billion (2021)
Increase PH₱2 billion (2021)
Owner
Websitewww.dito.ph

Dito Telecommunity Corporation (stylized as DITO),[4][5][6] formerly known as Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc. or Mislatel[1][2] is a telecommunications company in the Philippines which is also engaged in the business of multimedia and information technology.[7] It is a consortium of Davao businessman Dennis Uy's Udenna Corporation (through its subsidiary Dito CME Holdings Corporation), and Chinese state-owned China Telecommunications Corporation, a parent company of China Telecom.[8]

The consortium is known as the sole winner of the government-sanctioned bidding that would allow the consortium to become the third major telecommunications provider in the Philippines challenging the duopoly of PLDT and Globe Telecom.[9] Dito CME Holdings Corporation (a publicly listed firm also owned by Uy), meanwhile, has an "indirect ownership" in the telco.[8]

Dito Telecommunity began its commercial operations on March 8, 2021.[10][11] As of February 2023, Dito's total mobile subscriber base reached 13.1 million.[12] Dito gave out a free data allocation of 1 gigabyte for each subscriber when it hit a million customers three months after its official rollout.[13]

History

Early years as Mislatel

The Dito Telecommunity's history can be traced back to the establishment of Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc. (Mislatel), which is enacted by Congressional legislation on April 19, 1998, under Republic Act No. 8627, allowing the franchise to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain a telecommunication system throughout the Philippines.[1][2]

Third major telecommunications provider bid

Further information: 2018 Philippine third telecommunications provider bidding

In 2018, it was announced that Mislatel was one of the telecommunication firms to join the government-sanctioned bidding allowing the winner to become the third major telco provider in the Philippines challenging the duopoly of PLDT and Globe.[14] Mislatel became a joint-consortium between Udenna Corporation, its subsidiary Chelsea Logistics, and Chinese state-owned and a parent company of China Telecom, China Telecommunications Corporation.[9][15] The consortium was finally named as the "provisional third major player" by the NTC, beating out two other firms, Sear Telecom consortium and PT&T in the bidding.[9]

The Senate and the House of Representatives approved the transfer of ownership of Mislatel to the latter's consortium.[16][2] In June 2019, the consortium's stakeholders completed a share-purchase agreement with Mislatel, and were then awaiting their permit to operate, tentatively by July 2019.[17][18]

The consortium paid a ₱25.7 billion performance bond to the government as it committed to provide internet service with a speed of 200 megabits per second to more than a third of the population on its first year of operation.[3][19]

Relaunch as Dito

Dito Telecommunity logo (2019–2020)
President Rodrigo Duterte awards the company its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity.

On July 8, 2019, Mislatel was renamed as Dito Telecommunity.[4][5][6][20][21] Dito was derived from the Filipino word for "here", which is a response to the stakeholders' question on where they plan to set up a firm that would provide a "world class service" with "here" referring to the Philippines, the country where Dito Telecommunity is based in.[20]

Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity issued to the Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc. 8 July 2019
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity of the company.

At the same date of the announcement of the company's renaming, Dito Telecommunity was granted its permit to operate after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte awarded the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity by the National Telecommunications Commission to its chairman Dennis Uy during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace, Malacañang.[4][5][6]

On September 6, 2019, Dito announced its plans to build its own campus on an 8-hectare (20-acre) lot at Clark Global City. The campus will house the company's own data center and will hold Dito's operational departments, network operations center, servecall center, and regional center. It will also serve as the hub for Dito's research and development in the telecommunications space.[22] Dito began the construction of its campus on April 13, 2021.[23]

In October 2019, Dito signed separate deals with Lopez-owned Sky Cable Corporation and politician Luis Chavit Singson's LCS Group. Under the deal with LCS Group, Dito will lease the shared telco towers that LCS had already built in several areas. While on the other hand of the deal with Sky Cable, Dito will utilize the latter's unused fiber-optic cables in Metro Manila.[24][25]

By March 2020, two months ahead of schedule, the first domestic and international calls from the company's network were made. On July 18, 2020, the company had its technical launch.[26] The technical launch means that the Dito network will be ready for technical audits from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). The company passed its first technical audit in February 2021.[27] As of September 2020, Dito has completed 859 cell sites out of the planned 1,600 sites that will cover 37% of the population.[26]

On February 23, 2021, Dito and PLDT signed an interconnection deal to enable subscribers from the two companies to communicate in their respective networks.[28] Dito and Globe Telecom also signed an interconnetion deal on February 24, 2021.[29]

Start of operations

The company began its commercial operations on March 8, 2021, in select 15 selected areas in Visayas and Mindanao particularly in Metro Cebu and Metro Davao.[30][11] Dito decided to focus on the rollout of its mobile services first.[31] Dito had offered the 4G LTE first before moving to 5G technology in 2021.[19][3]

Dito Telecommunity workers selling SIM cards at temporary tents-shops at Glorietta Park, Baliwag, Bulacan

On April 16, 2021, Dito expanded its services to select areas in Luzon provinces, initially in five provinces covering a total of 18 cities and municipalities.[32]

On May 17, 2021, Dito service became available in Metro Manila.[33] On May 18, 2021, President Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11537 which renewed Dito's license for another 25 years. The law granted Dito a franchise to construct, establish, install, maintain and operate wire and/or wireless telecommunications systems in the Philippines.[34][35][36] On May 26, 2021, Dito selected Nokia to deploy its 5G services in Mindanao.[37]

On June 29, 2021, Dito announced that it has partnered with non-banking financial firm M Lhuillier to expand the reach of the former's products and services nationwide.[38]

By 2022, Dito intends to offer high-speed broadband internet service. Additionally, the company has prioritized Mindanao and the Visayas for the commercial launch of their upcoming broadband services.[39][40] But on February 28, 2022, Dito launches its pilot broadband in Metro Manila instead.[41]

As of July 5, 2023, the service is currently available in 62 out of 82 provinces in the country: 31 in Luzon, 12 in Visayas and 19 in Mindanao.[42][43]

Subscribers

Dito has 14 million subscribers in 2022 exceeding the 12 million target in terms of subscriber base.[44] prior to the implementation of SIM Registration Act.

By virtue of SIM Registration Act and due to deactivation of unregistered SIM cards, Dito has 7.5 million subscribers as of July 26, 2023.[45] The company remains third after Globe Telecom and Smart Communications which has 48.4 million and 50.0 million subscribers respectively.

At the end of the 5-day grace period, Dito registered 7,740,346 subscribers as of July 30, 2023.[46] Out of its total 14,964,967 subscribers or 51.72% of its total subscriber base, the company losts 7,224,621 SIM cards to deactivation.

Controversies

Complaint against Globe Telecom and Smart Communications

On August 8, 2022, the company filed a complaint against duopolies Globe Telecom and Smart Communications at the Philippine Competition Commission for an alleged "anti-competitive practices" and "abuse of market dominance".[47][48]

On August 9, 2022, Globe Telecom has asked the National Telecommunications Commission to pay the interconnection penalty of ₱622 million to Dito for "breach of agreement".[49]

Complaint against ARTA

In 2022, Dito Chief Administrative Officer Adel Tamano filed a complaint accusing five former officials of the Anti-Red Tape Authority, including Director General Jeremiah Belgica, of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3018) for giving preferential treatment to Now Telecom in a dispute over frequencies.

Ombudsman Samuel Martires, in an order dated October 25, 2022, signed on March 3, 2023, and only publicly released in July, convicted the five of grave misconduct, dismissing them from service, cancelling their civil service eligibility and retirement benefits, and barring them from holding public office.[50][51]

Ownership

The following are the stockholders of Dito Telecommunity (as of November 2020):

Direct Indirect % of stake
Dito Holdings Corporation
(Udenna Corporation)[8] 		Udenna CME (Dito CME)[8]
Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure[8] 		60%
China Telecommunications Corporation[4][5][6][8] 40%

Radio frequency summary

Frequencies used by DITO Telecommunity
Frequency Protocol Class Band Number Duplex Mode Common Name
700 MHz LTE/LTE-A/LTE-A Pro 4G 28 FDD APT
2100 MHz 1 IMT
2500 MHz 41 TDD BRS
3500 Mhz NR 5G n78 C band

The LTE Carrier Aggregation Combination Bands are LTE B1 (2100 MHz) and LTE B28 (700 MHz) CA_1A_28A.

DITO is the first commercial network in the Philippines to launch 5G in Standalone Mode (SA 5G) and will soon launch Voice over NR (VoNR) Services.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Republic Act No. 8627 (April 19, 1998), An Act Granting the Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc. a Franchise to Construct, Establish, Install, Maintain and Operate Wire and/or Wireless Telecommunications Systems in the Philippines, archived from the original on January 16, 2023, retrieved September 24, 2022
  2. ^ a b c d "Congress OKs Mislatel's transfer to Dennis Uy-China Telecom group". CNN Philippines. May 23, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Rivas, Ralf (February 20, 2020). "DITO Telecom services available by March 2021". Rappler. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d "Mislatel, now DITO Telecommunity, is a Filipino-Chinese company which got a permit to operate as 3rd telco". CNN Philippines. July 8, 2019. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d Balinbin, Arjay L. (July 8, 2019). "Mislatel to rebrand as 'DITO Telecommunity' after getting license". BusinessWorld. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d Parrocha, Azer (July 8, 2019). "PRRD hands Mislatel Consortium permit to operate as 3rd telco". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  7. ^ "DITO.PH | DITO CME Holdings Corp. Company Profile & Executives - WSJ". www.wsj.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "DITO CME Approves UDENNA CME Share Swap". Udenna Group. November 9, 2020. Archived from the original on June 26, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c De Guzman, Luchi (November 9, 2018). "Udenna-China Telecom wins provisional bid as 3rd telco player". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  10. ^ Marasigan, Lorenz S. (January 8, 2021). "DITO all set for month-long technical audit". BusinessMirror. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Fenol, Jessica (March 8, 2021). "DITO now available in Visayas, Mindanao; will be in NCR 'in a few weeks'". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  12. ^ Mercurio, Richmond (February 9, 2023). "DICT: SIM card registration hits 30 million". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  13. ^ "Dito Telecom hits 1M subscribers, announces free 1GB data". GMA News Online. June 16, 2021. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  14. ^ "A quick look at the three firms that submitted bids to be third telco". The Philippine Star. November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  15. ^ Fernandez, Butch (November 8, 2018). "With 3rd player, Poe sees telecom reforms". BusinessMirror. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  16. ^ "Senate approves Mislatel transfer of ownership to Dennis Uy, China Telecom consortium". ABS-CBN News. February 6, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  17. ^ "Mislatel consortium finishes on step towards operation". BusinessWorld. June 14, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  18. ^ Camus, Miguel (January 31, 2019). "Mislatel Consortium eyes permit to operate by July". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  19. ^ a b "DITO pushes back market rollout to March 2021". CNN Philippines. February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  20. ^ a b "From Mislatel to DITO, why the name change?". ABS-CBN News. July 9, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  21. ^ Medilo, Luis Reginaldo (July 9, 2019). "Mislatel Consortium Gets License to Operate, Rebrands as Dito Telecommunity". Tech Pilipinas.
  22. ^ Rivas, Ralf (September 6, 2019). "DITO Telecom campus to rise in Clark Global City". Rappler. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  23. ^ "Udenna Land Inc. and DITO break ground in Clark Global City". BusinessMirror. April 13, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  24. ^ Marasigan, Lorenz (October 4, 2019). "DITO Telecom inks deals with Chavit, SkyCable". BusinessMirror. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  25. ^ "Third telco DITO says investments to exceed $6-B plan". ABS-CBN News. November 4, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  26. ^ a b Camus, Miguel R. (September 18, 2020). "Deflecting Chinese espionage fears, Uy-led DITO sets sights on 2021 start". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  27. ^ "Dito Telecom passes 1st technical audit —NTC". GMA News Online. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  28. ^ "PLDT, DITO sign interconnection deal for fixed, wireless subscribers". ABS-CBN News. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  29. ^ "Globe inks interconnection deal with DITO for mobile calls, SMS". ABS-CBN News. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  30. ^ "No K-Pop endorsers for Dito's March 8 rollout in VisMin, available nationwide by June". cnn. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  31. ^ Cordero, Ted (March 2, 2021). "DITO to offer broadband services in 2022". GMA News Online. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  32. ^ Fenol, Jessica (April 16, 2021). "DITO expands to Luzon, adds service in 21 more cities". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  33. ^ Rey, Aika (May 17, 2021). "Dito Telecommunity now in Metro Manila". Rappler. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  34. ^ Republic Act No. 11537 (May 18, 2021), AN ACT RENEWING FOR ANOTHER TWENTY-FIVE (25) YEARS THE FRANCHISE GRANTED TO MINDANAO ISLAMIC TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC., PRESENTLY KNOWN AS DITO TELECOMMUNITY CORPORATION, UNDER REPUBLIC ACT NO.8627, ENTITLED “AN ACT GRANTING THE MINDANAO ISLAMIC TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC., A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, ESTABLISH, INSTALL, MAINTAIN AND OPERATE WIRE AND/OR WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS IN THE PHILIPPINES”, archived from the original on October 19, 2021, retrieved August 2, 2022
  35. ^ Aguilar, Krissy (May 18, 2021). "Duterte grants 3rd telco Dito Telecommunity a 25-year franchise". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  36. ^ Parrocha, Azer (May 18, 2021). "Duterte renews DITO Telecommunity franchise for 25 more years". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  37. ^ Rey, Aika (May 27, 2021). "Nokia bags 5G deal with Dito Telecommunity". Rappler. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  38. ^ "DITO taps M Lhuillier to bring products to more customers". ABS-CBN News. June 29, 2021. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  39. ^ "Third telco DITO says may offer broadband services next year". ABS-CBN News. March 2, 2021. Archived from the original on September 4, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  40. ^ Neil (March 2, 2021). "DITO may start to offer home broadband services in 2022". BusinessWorld. Archived from the original on September 4, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  41. ^ "Telco DITO pilots 5G fixed wireless broadband in Metro Manila". BusinessWorld. March 1, 2022. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  42. ^ "Network Coverage - DITO Telecommunity". DITO Telecommunity. June 12, 2021. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  43. ^ "Network Coverage". Dito Telecommunity. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  44. ^ Balinbin, Arjay (December 14, 2022). "DITO Telecommunity aims to double its subscriber base to 28M in 2023". BusinessWorld. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  45. ^ "NTC: No more SIM registration deadline extension". The Philippine Star. July 25, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  46. ^ Rilloraza, Bryan (August 5, 2023). "SIM registration in the Philippines ends, final tally of subscribers revealed". TechnoBaboy.com. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  47. ^ Esmael, Lisbet (August 8, 2022). "Interconnection woes: DITO accuses Globe, Smart of 'abusing' dominant positions". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on August 11, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  48. ^ Pascual, Jekki (August 8, 2022). "DITO files complaint vs Globe, Smart with PH Competition Commission". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on August 11, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  49. ^ "Globe to NTC: Require DITO to pay ₱622 million interconnection penalties". CNN Philippines. August 9, 2022. Archived from the original on August 11, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  50. ^ "Ex-ARTA chief found guilty of grave misconduct over DITO complaint". ABS-CBN News. July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  51. ^ "Ombudsman finds ex-ARTA chief guilty of grave misconduct for favoring NOW Telecom". Rappler. July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
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