LIVE: Senate hearing on Dito franchise

File photo shows a cell tower.
The STAR/File

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate Committee on Public Services holds Monday a hearing into the renewal of the franchise of Dito Telecommunity Corp.

Dito used to be known as Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc., Mislatel.

Meant to inject competition into the telecommunications industry, Dito has been holding a Friendly User Test in controlled environments in preparation for a planned commercial launch in March 2021.

The company said in October that it had already put up 1,532 cell towers and was hoping to have put up more than 2,000 by the end of the year.

"Hopefully, we can achieve that so that we can offer a wider coverage to the public," Rodolfo Santiago, chief technology officer at Dito Telecommunity, told reporters in an online briefing that month.

At that level, Santiago, said Dito can safely cover between 47-49% of the population, way above the 37% regulatory requirement on its first year.

Watch the Senate hearing here:

 

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