DITO completes first wave test

The current friendly user test, as mandated in our Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity is running in selected areas of NCR, the Visayas and Mindanao

Startup DITO Telecommunity Corp. has completed the first wave of its user test nationwide as part of preparations for its commercial launch slated March 2021.

In a statement over the weekend, DITO said the program was placed in “controlled environments” since March.

According to the company, the user test signified that its “core network is in place” for a favorable launch.

“The current friendly user test, as mandated in our CPCN (Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity) is running in selected areas of NCR, the Visayas and Mindanao,” DITO said.

The company also underscored that the qualified participants of the test “have long been preselected based on several criteria and are now tasked to run the network through its paces.”

DITO, which had been granted status to challenge the duopoly of telco giants Globe Telecom Inc. and PLDT Inc., completed its first 5G phone and video calls in October.

In a previous briefing, DITO chief administrative officer Adel Tamano affirmed confidence it will pass the government’s technical audit after they completed over 1,500 base stations in October.

The company targets to complete over 2,000 base stations by year-end.

Based on its agreements with the government, DITO is initially required to build 1,300 towers to cover 37 percent of the population with an internet speed of 27 megabits per second before its technical launch in January.

During the so-called launch, the government will have the first audit of its compliance with its commitments.

The National Telecommunications Commission earlier issued a resolution extending the original July 2020 technical audit after DITO cited force majeure claims due to the COVID-19 crisis.

DITO is currently manufacturing SIM cards in preparation for its commercial rollout, which according to chief administrative officer Adel Tamano will happen “sooner.”

Tamano said the “deadliest deadline” for the telco’s commercial launch is on March 2021 but they are “still hoping” to get ahead

of the schedule.

JOEY O. RAZON/PNA TELECOMMUNICATION giants in the country could face possible expropriation of assets unless significant improvements in their services are identified by the government.