DITO Telecommunity to tap satellite technology

Third telco player DITO Telecommunity is planning to deploy satellite technology to reach underserved and unserved areas.

The country's third major telco player DITO

DITO satellite technology for remote areas?

During a virtual briefing on Thursday, its chief technology officer Rodolfo Santiago said DITO is already in discussion with potential satellite providers.

He did not name the companies as talks were ongoing.

Santiago said that rolling out such technology was "part of the solution" to make sure that reliable telco services would cover Filipinos residing in remote areas, island municipalities, and mountainous areas in particular.

Last month, the National Telecommunications Commission approved the registration of SpaceX, the company of US tech billionaire Elon Musk, as an internet provider.

In addition, Rodolfo said DITO seeks to build 7,000 to 7,500 towers to cover 80 percent of the country's population by mid-2023. It currently has 5,500 towers.

We are confident that DITO can go head-to-head with the other two major players as penetrating more areas means we capture more share in the market, Adel Tamano, DITO chief administrative officer, earlier said.

The group is also confident it would achieve its subscriber growth target of 12 million before the year ends as it has already attracted 10 million customers.

Source: Inquirer