Moody's: DITO has no capacity to disrupt PLDT's operations yet

While DITO Telecommunity has officially launched in the market earlier this month, its presence can not immediately affect PLDT's performance.

PLDT and DITO logo

PLDT to keep dominance despite third telco player's presence

According to a report of global debt watcher Moody’s Investors Service, DITO's presence in the telco space will intensify competition.

However, it noted PLDT will continue to enjoy its dominance as the third telco player's network is not strong enough yet to dent the former's operations "over the next 12 to 18 months."

This is because it will still take some time for DITO to build a comprehensive mobile coverage, expand its network and acquire a meaningful subscriber base, Moody's said.

DITO made its network services initially available to select areas in Cebu and Davao last March 8. For subscribers in the said areas, DITO said they will enjoy a minimum average internet speed of 27 megabits per second.

The new player, backed by Davao's Dennis Uy and China Telecommunications, is aiming to expand its mobile services to National Capital Region "in a few weeks".

PLDT, the leading telco in the Philippines, boasts a 49 percent share of mobile subscribers and over 50 percent share of market revenues in 2020.

Given this, Moody's kept its Baa2 issuer rating with a stable outlook for PLDT. Its telco core income last year went up by 4 percent to PHP 28.09 billion. Total revenues also jumped 7 percent to PHP 181 billion.

Source: BusinessWorld