Senate panel OKs franchise bid of China-backed Dito

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate public services committee on Wednesday approved the franchise application of the country’s third telecommunications player, Dito Telecommunity Corp.

Dito, which was picked as the country’s third telco in 2018, is seeking another 25-year franchise from Congress.

The company holds a congressional franchise via Mindanao Islamic Telephone Co., which is set to expire in 2023.

“Allow me to reiterate that the grant of a franchise is not a right, but a privilege. New franchise applicants must establish that there is a public need for the service they propose to deliver and the means to adequately provide it,” Senator Grace Poe, panel head, said during her committee’s hearing.

“To those for renewal, treat the franchise not only as a privilege but as a checklist of your obligations and commitments to the public,” she added.

Aside from Dito’s franchise, the public services committee also tackled the telco and broadcast franchise bills of several other entities.

During the hearing, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri moved to have these measures “put forward in plenary and approved on the committee level.”

Poe, before ending the hearing, congratulated Dito as well as the other franchise applicants.

Asked to confirm the committee approval of Dito’s franchise, Poe answered in the affirmative.

“Other applications are pending based on the submission of some requested [documents],” she said in a message to INQUIRER.net

“[Dito] in particular is approved on the committee level,” she added.

Dito, owned by Davao-based businessman Dennis A. Uy’s Udenna Corp. and state-run China Telecom, made its commercial debut on Mar. 8.

The company’s chief administrative officer, Atty. Adel Tamano told the committee in the same hearing that over 22,000 people signed up to avail of their services during the first day of its commercial launch.

“When we talk about the deliverables it seems that… Dito Telecommunity has actually delivered…so when I defend this franchise before the body, I can say that this was also actually audited by an independent advocacy group, hindi lamang NTC (National Telecommunications Commission) at ‘yung auditor hired by Dito,” Poe said during the hearing.

The NTC earlier said Dito met its initial population coverage and minimum average internet speed commitments to the Philippine government.

According to the results of the audit conducted by R.G. Manabat & Co., Dito had a national population coverage of 37.48 percent and minimum average broadband speeds of 85.9 megabits per second (Mbps) for 4G and 507.5 Mbps for 5G.

The figures were higher than Dito’s first-year commitment to cover 37 percent of the population and offer a minimum average broadband speed of 27 Mbps.

The test was conducted over 30 days starting Jan. 7, 2021. It was supposed to be held in July last year but Dito asked the NTC for an extension due to the pandemic.

Dito chief technology officer Rodolfo Santiago, meanwhile, expressed confidence that the telco will be able to meet the required 51-percent population coverage by July 2021, which is part of its second-year commitment.

“For the rollout to meet our second-year commitment by July of 2021. We are confident, Ma’am, that we can meet the population coverage required of us of 51 percent because right now we’re nearing 45-percent population coverage,” Santiago said.

“And that we are very aggressive in our five-year rollout, that would allow us to maintain the 55 Mbps minimum average broadband speed,” he added.

/MUF