Dito wants to capture 20 percent of market

MANILA, Philippines — Telco newcomer Dito Telecommunity Inc. has set its sights on cornering up to 20 percent of the market for mobile users, as the company shifts its focus from network expansion to customer acquisition.

At a 20 percent market share, this means one in five Filipinos should be registered with Dito, a goal the telco is confident of achieving within the year.

When translated into real value, Dito CEO Ernesto Alberto said the telco plans to capture at least 18 million to as many as 20 million subscribers for mobile this year.

Alberto said he is optimistic such a target can be achieved given that Dito is close to completing its investment commitments with the government. For 2024, Dito is required to cover 84 percent of the population, and Alberto said the telco stands at 82 percent right now.

Apart from this, Alberto said Dito maintains the youngest network among all operators in the Philippines. As of 2023, Dito manages more than 7,000 towers in its portfolio, allowing it to reach a total of 850 cities and municipalities across the archipelago.

All of Dito’s subscribers also enjoy access to a network built with 4G and 5G sites, making it the lone telco in the country operating without legacy infrastructure.

With this, Alberto believes that subscribers, particularly from the younger generations, are drawn to choose Dito, as the telco provides 4G and 5G connections needed to access digital services.

On top of this, Dito will start cutting its capital expenditures for network expansion to reallocate funds for commercial activities, especially marketing campaigns.

Alberto said Dito used to spend as much as 90 percent of its capex for network buildup to attain the requirements for keeping the franchise. Since Dito will be freed from these commitments by 2025, the telco seeks to reorganize its budget and increase its spending on promotional activities.

However, Alberto said it would still take until 2025 for Dito to break even and until 2028 for the company to make profit. He said the initial years of the telco were spent on catching up with the existing network of competitors, forcing Dito to burn capital and sustain losses.

The telco is mandated by the government to invest P257 billion for network expansion from 2020 to 2024, and is audited every year to assess the performance of its services.

Dito’s parent Dito CME Holdings Corp., in its financial report, sustained a net loss of P5.73 billion as of September 2023, but is optimistic that bleeding will subside once the telco expands its customer base and revenue sources.