Incoming third telco Dito expects to start operating in 2020

"A draft Terms of Reference for the entry of a new, major industry player is at hand. The terms will be fair, reasonable and comprehensive. It will be inclusive so it will be open to all interested private parties, both foreign and local. The only condition is that the chosen entity must provide the best possible services at reasonably accessible prices."

When President Rodrigo Duterte said these words during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 23, 2018, the Philippines only had two major telecommunications players: Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc., and Pangilinan-led PLDT Inc.

Dito Telecommunity Corporation, formerly Mislatel Consortium, was awarded its permit to operate as the third telecommunications player of the country on July 8, 2019.

The consortium is made up of Davao businessman Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corporation, Udenna's subsidiary Chelsea Logistics Holdings Inc., and Chinese state-owned China Telecommunications Corporation.

Uy was one of Duterte's biggest backers during his 2016 presidential campaign.

The company was officially declared as the "new major player" by the National Telecommunications Commission on November 19, 2018, after it committed a nationwide coverage of 84.01%, a minimum speed of 55 megabits per second (Mbps), and a capex/opex of P27 billion in its fifth year of operations.

Other firms that submitted bids were Sear Telecom (TierOne Communications International and Chavit Singson-led LCS Group of Companies), and Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (PT&T) but were both disqualified due to lack of requirements.

According to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the company may start accepting subscribers by the fourth quarter of the year.

Dito spokesperson Adel Tamano noted, however, that the company is scheduled to start commercial operations in the second quarter of 2020 as details have to first be finalized. — BM, GMA News