Senate panel won't be hostaged in delibs for Dito franchise renewal —Poe

The Senate committee on public services will stand firm on its requirement for Dito Telecommunity Corporation to deliver its initial set of commitments by January 2021 before it can be granted another 25 years of franchise.

In an interview on ANC, Poe was asked about Dito's position that its target commercial rollout by March 2021 would be positively affected should it secure a franchise renewal from Congress.

"I don't think anyone should hold Congress or Senate hostage for the franchise. They asked for that franchise, it was granted to them based on their promises or commitments of what they'll be able to deliver," the senator said.

"As of now, the tone that they have is that initial deliverables will be met by January. Let's see if that will happen. If they have it by January, that will be a good indication that their franchise will be approved," she added.

Poe pointed out that Dito's franchise will not expire until 2023.

"That should be enough even to their investors to know that they have the capability but only if they are able to do the submission by January," she said.

During the Senate hearing on Monday, Dito chief administrative officer Adel Tamano said that scoring a franchise renewal sooner would give more confidence in the company.

"If the question is can we wait 'til 2023, your honor, I think to protect the public since they will be investing in SIM cards and phones from our company, we would really humbly ask this honorable committee to approve extension well before that," he said.

"Of course I think there will be more confidence in the viability of our enterprise if the franchise is extended," he added.

The Senate panel will review the third party assessment of Dito's deliverables in January 2021.

Dito has vowed to provide a minimum speed of 27 mbps and achieve a nationwide coverage of 37.03% in its first year of operations on or before July 8, 2020. Otherwise, it will lose its P24 billion performance bond.

However, due to delays in delivery of material supplies from China amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Telecommunications Commission previously gave Dito six more months to comply.—AOL, GMA News