Becoming a necessary company utility
for the whole country is not a quick process that will happen overnight, but
this week is yet another significant step by the Mindanao Islamic Telephone Co.
(Mislatel) towards being elevated as the prospective third wheel in the
years-spanning duopoly of PLDT-Smart Communications and Globe Telecom. While it
will still take some time to get their infrastructure up and running, the fact
that they now have a public convenience certificate means they can move ahead
with their national organization. And to help with their promotional efforts,
Mislatel has assumed a new name for branding purposes.
CNN Philippines reports that on Monday, July 8, Mislatel was given
a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) by President Rodrigo
Duterte at a simple ceremony in Malacañang. This document elevates the
company, a consortium of two local businesses and a Chinese state-owned
telecom, to a position equal to that of PLDT-Smart and Globe Telecom, easing
its transition towards becoming an effective nationwide competitor against both.
To that effect, the Department of Information, Communication and Technology
(DICT) also awarded Mislatel with its operating frequency assigned for its
telecom infrastructure. Mislatel also went and rebranded itself as DITO Telecommunity
Corporation.
In specific details, the CPCN for
now-DITO Telecommunity is an official grant for the company to operate as a
telecom provider. With the addition of a legislative franchise from Congress
DITO is now mandated to gear up for trying to acquire new consumers and draw
away existing clients of two entrenched Philippine telecom giants. To ensure
they do not slack off in meeting this objective, DITO had to post a performance
bond worth P25.7 billion that could be forfeited to the government if they fall
short of the starting goals that have been set down in the Terms of Reference.
According to DICT Undersecretary
Eliseo Rio, DITO Telecommunity Corporation will begin by setting up shops in the
major metropolitan centers of the Philippines – Manila, Cebu and Davao – where they
will gain their first crop of service subscribers. “Of course they would start
with pilot-pilot testing first,” elaborates Rio. “Then they readjust if there
are still problems with the network. They will only go to a commercial
operation if they don't encounter problems any longer. In their timeline, that
is 2020.”
Under the Terms of Reference in
the Congressional legislation establishing the former Mislatel as the country’s
“third telco,” the now-DITO Telecommunity has to provide internet speeds of
minimum 27Mbps to 37% of the Philippine population within its first year of
full operation to regain its performance bond. DITO, formed from Udenna Corp.
and Chelsea Logistics of Davao business magnate Dennis Uy plus state-owned
China Telecom, is in the forefront of finally improving the Philippines’
abysmal internet speeds with its operation.
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