DITO eyes 2M wireless broadband subscribers by ’26
DITO Telecommunity is bullish on sustaining the growth momentum of its broadband business, a segment that could further fuel its 5G investments.
In a media briefing on Tuesday, DITO Telecommunity president and chief executive officer Eric Alberto expressed confidence in its fixed wireless broadband access (FWA) service.
“Today, we have a capacity of about 3.6 million FWA subscribers, and we’re barely scratching the surface with 250,000. So [there’s] a lot of room,” he said in Taguig City.
The group expects to reach 1.5 million to 2 million FWA subscribers by 2026.
“We’re seeing that the market, particularly after the pandemic, has become social media active. They’re now purchasing online. And we’re seeing that the traction plus the reception for our services is now moving faster in conversion. So, we can be a little bit more ambitious,” Alberto said.
On average, the group is enlisting 1,200 new users every day.
To stay on a roll, Alberto said DITO has decided to reinvest the revenue it earns from FWA service into its 5G network.
The official even noted that DITO’s FWA technology would be the country’s “next frontier,” as wired connectivity continues to face challenges, such as fiber line cuts.
“Wireless broadband eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming installation and repair. It allows us to reach areas that fiber can’t or won’t serve,” he added.
Adel Tamano, DITO chief revenue officer, echoed this, saying only 8 to 9 million households are served with broadband. It added that the service quality was also “highly inconsistent.”
In DITO’s case, about 50 percent of its subscribers were getting 5G-ready connectivity, Tamano said.
DITO, a challenger to the telco duopoly of Globe Telecom and PLDT, started serving the market in March 2021. Currently, its mobile subscriber base is more than 13 million.
It hopes to achieve profitability by 2028.
