DITO to offer home broadband services using 5G network

Telecommunications duopoly challenger DITO Telecommunity Corp. is opting to use wireless technology instead of fiber to offer home broadband internet services.

DITO started offering mobile services only when it commercially launched on March 8, 2021. It has since expanded its network coverage to more than 200 areas across the country.

At a virtual press conference on Thursday, DITO chief technology officer Rodolfo Santiago said that in the short to medium term, the telco “is not prioritizing the fixed line, meaning… the technical term is fiber-to-the-home because we’re going to service the home using our fixed wireless.”

“In fact, we are about to conduct our friendly user test for our fixed wireless access using our 5G network. That provides better if not comparable speed to the fixed wired,” he said.

The DITO chief tech officer said using the 5G network is the fastest means to provide home broadband internet services because it will save the company time from addressing right-of-way issues in putting up fiber optic cables.

“We’ll provide fiber-like services without using fiber. We’re going to use our 5G network to provide FWA (fixed wireless access) service to the home. We’re about to do the 5G FWA after that we can already offer the service,” Santiago said.

For his part, DITO chief administrative officer Adel Tamano said the company is targeting to conduct the test for 5G FWA to the home service within the fourth quarter of the year, before the telco can commercially launch the service.

Tamano said the conduct of a friendly user test will ensure that the services that DITO will offer is reliable and will not disappoint the subscribers.

Nonetheless, Santiago said for the long-term, DITO is looking at offering fiber-to-the-home or fixed wire broadband services.

“But, since we already have the 5G network. We know that this is the faster way of providing fixed broadband services to the home. Short and medium term we are going to do the 5G FWA as our means of providing that service, but eventually we are going to fiber-to-the-home,” Santiago said.

DITO passed the second year audit of its service commitments.

Citing a notice from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), DITO parent firm DITO CME Holdings said that the third telco was found to achieve a national population coverage percentage of 52.75%, while its megabits per second (Mbps) delivered are 89.13 Mbps and 853.96 Mbps for all its 4G and 5G sites, respectively.

The telco committed to deliver a national population coverage of 51.01% and minimum average broadband speed of 55 Mbps in the second year of its commitment period, as part of the issuance of its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity in July 2019. -MDM, GMA News