The most awaited launch of the Third Telco of the Philippines, DITO Telecommunity has commenced and officially launched in Davao City, during a private video conferencing with more than 600 online participants with VIP guests and various members of the media and online community, with almost 500 employees of DITO Telecommunity, gracing the event were Davao City Vice Mayor Sebastian Duterte, with Chairman and CEO of DITO Dennis A. Uy, DICT Secretary Ret. Col. Gregorio “Gringo: Honasan III, National Telecommunications Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba,
The online event came in two parts, 1st part was the opening remarks and welcome addresses of each distinguished guests that lasted around 40 minutes. After which, a 15 minute break to resume the media question and answer session.
To read more of the welcome address, please read more below for each and everyone’s formal speech translated from the video greetings help by each corresponding VIP guest.
On the second part, DITO Telecommunity dynamic duo Atty. Adel Tamayo and Ret. Gen. Rodolfo Santiago, entertained all the media’s questions for over than an hour.
Chief Technological Officer Ret. Gen. Santiago took the first round of queries. He reiterated that DITO Telecommunity has passed and surpassed the technical audit of the National Telecommunications way passed the benchmark required and stated by the government in terms of the minimum standards. DITO Telecommunity has no legacy technology as its platform is based on 4G LTE minimum and is guaranteed to deliver no less than 27mbps signal speed. For 5G enabled locations and 5G capable phones, they will be able to enjoy the maximum potential of DITO Telecommunity 5G network.
MESSAGE of Retired Major General Rodolfo Santiago, Chief Technology Officer
DITO TELECOMMUNITY COMMERCIAL LAUNCH VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
Napaka gandang umaga sa inyong lahat!
Secretary Gregorio Honasan III of the DICT, Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba of the NTC, the Honorable Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, Honorable Vice Mayor of Davao City Sebastian Duterte, and of course our Chairman and CEO Mr. Dennis Uy, my partner Atty Adel Tamano, our partners from China Telecom, colleagues, members of the media and friends, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
Not a lot of people believed that what we have achieved in a little more than a year-and-a-half could be done in time. Some have said that this was all just a fool’s dream and yet we all find ourselves here today.
Just a few days ago, the NTC released the audit findings.
DITO surpassed the required minimum average broadband speed which was set at 27 megabits per second (Mbps).
Based on the audit, DITO demonstrated an average speed of 85.9 Mbps for 4G and 507.5 Mbps for 5G.
And in terms of coverage, DITO covers more than 37% of the population.
This milestone was reached amidst the global pandemic and with the invaluable assistance and guidance by the NTC and the DITC together with the gallant efforts of our people and our partnership with the LGUs.
Today as we launch DITO Telecommunity, I’m happy to announce another milestone. DITO is on track to meet our 2nd year commitments.
I commend everyone for a job well done. For your commitment, for soldiering on.
And for all of you who never ceased to believe, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for your support, belief and faith that DITO will succeed.
Today as we begin our commercial launch, all I can say is that there is more work to be done and together we will succeed and make a difference in transforming the landscape of Philippine telecommunications.
More power to DITO! More power to the Filipino!
MESSAGE OF Secretary Gregorio Honasan II of the DICT
DITO TELECOMMUNITY COMMERCIAL LAUNCH VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. To the leaders of the DITO Telecommunity:
Mr. Dennis Uy, Chairman and CEO;
Atty. Adel A. Tamano, Chief Administrative Officer;
Mr. Rodolfo Santiago Jr., Chief Technology Officer; and
To everyone on the team, thank you for inviting the Department of Information and Communications Technology (or DICT) to this event.
Before anything else, allow me first to extend my sincere congratulations to DITO Telecommunity for this milestone. You have come a long way since the bid for the third major telecommunications provider, and now you are ready to enter the market. Since your selection as the third major player last November 7, 2018 and your beginnings as Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc. or Mislatel, the goal had always been to boost healthy competition in the telecommunications sector and advance growth.
Now, after overcoming hurdles and passing the technical audit of your first year of roll-out, we hope that this commercial launch would bring welcome dynamism to the Philippine telecom industry. Truly, this event represents a big boost in digital connectivity services for the Filipino people.
We are all aware, more than ever, that digital infrastructure and connectivity are central to the ability of our country to move forward, address social changes, and meet the challenges of the future. With our private sector partners investing in digital infrastructure to upgrade the competitiveness of the Philippines, we hope to attract more opportunities, create more jobs, and improve the lives of our countrymen.
Moreover, connectivity services are in great demand amid the new normal, as tools that contribute to the continuity of economic and public life. It is also a means to boost our participation in the digital economy to recover from the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic.
These objectives are fueled by the President’s express mandate to the Department to connect the government to other governments, domestic and global; government to businesses; government to citizens; and everybody to each other. And no doubt, our nation is well on its way to achieving this goal.
Recent reports on the Philippines’ mobile and fixed Internet download speeds by the Ookla Speedtest Global Index indicate that our country is steadily moving up the global rankings. We are presently ranked 86th in the world in terms of mobile speed, largely owing to the efforts of the telecommunications industry in building and developing their network infrastructure.
While recent data shows the nation’s improved Internet speed, it is only one factor in the national ICT agenda. We want to also pose the challenge of improving coverage, especially in rural and remote areas. We want to make connectivity as inclusive and far-reaching as possible—to ensure that many reap the benefits of the digital economy, and not just the chosen few.
With DITO Telecommunity’s commercial roll-out, we can expect another helpful pair of hands for nation-building. With the new player entering the field, we are determined to prove that we are leaders who deliver on their commitments, and we are confident that the Filipino people can sooner expect sustainable improvements in connectivity services moving forward.
To DITO Telecommunity, I hope that you deliver on your commitments to providing reliable service. The people are counting on unhampered connectivity services, quality Internet, and responsive service to be able to move past this pandemic to a brighter future. As one of the key players in the telecommunications industry, you play a critical role in shaping this country’s digital outlook, and the quality and coverage of the services you will provide will highly impact the overall ICT growth of the country. We expect great things from you in the coming months.
The DICT is more than glad that everyone is stepping up to maximize opportunities and address challenges to connectivity in response to President Duterte’s call for a connected Philippines. Once again, congratulations to DITO Telecommunity and mabuhay po tayong lahat!
MESSAGE of Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba, NTC Commissioner
DITO TELECOMMUNITY COMMERCIAL LAUNCH VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
MESSAGE of Atty. Adel Tamano, Chief Administrative Officer
DITO TELECOMMUNITY COMMERCIAL LAUNCH VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
A pleasant morning to everyone! Let me take this opportunity to highlight why the DITO DNA, the DITO motivation is different from other companies.
We are here not only for business but more importantly for nation building., built on the foundations of cooperation and collaboration.
And to give this life, our very first act as a company is to honor our courageous front liners — doctors, nurses, teachers, policemen, and the other brave men and women by providing them with world class connectivity that Filipinos truly deserve.
We have partnered with ten cities in Visayas and Mindanao to herald the start of a long series of commercial activations to provide free DITO service to 3,000 men and women who have symbolized a new breed of Pinoy heroes.
Like these front liners, we are here to serve our countrymen.
And to them I say, thank you for your service.
MESSAGE of Dennis A. Uy, Chairman and CEO
DITO TELECOMMUNITY COMMERCIAL LAUNCH VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
PART ONE
Secretary Gregorio Honasan II of the DICT, Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba of the NTC, The Honorable Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte – Carpio, The Honorable Davao City Vice Mayor Sebastian Duterte, our partners from the Udenna Group, China Telecom, our vendors, and most especially our friends from the media; maayong buntag!
Reflecting on our journey these past years, DITO was born out of a spirit of nation-building.
Ang pagpatukod og ika-tulo nga telco kay para maka silbi ta sa mga Filipinos ug makahatag ta og mas maayo og mas wais nga option.
Ang atoang national leaders naga-tuo nga kung wala ang saktong ICT infrastructure, kung wala ang tinuod na kompetinsiya, dili makab-ot sa Pilipinas ang iyang hingpit nga potensyal.
This is the genesis of this project, the origins of why DITO was born.
From the time President Duterte shared his concern to me about how important it is to have a viable and strong third major player in the telecommunications industry, how important it is to provide the Filipino people with another option, to winning the bid in 2019, to today, as we officially announce the commercial launch of DITO, it was never about making a fast buck.
We knew it was a long-term commitment, and that if we delivered on our promise, then the business would flourish. We needed to be patient and be ready for the long haul.
Many said it couldn’t be done.
We have all shared countless discussions on the different reasons why we shouldn’t even try and yet at the end of the day, we all said, WHY NOT?
We faced the Senate, Congress, and our regulators, knowing all too well that a good number of people, were thinking that we would eventually fail.
They were wrong. Here we are. In the following weeks you will see us rise in various areas of the country. But today, March 8, we first give back to where it all began.
Mayor Sara, Vice Mayor Baste, on behalf of our partners from China Telecom, the Udenna Group, our vendors and partners, the committed men and women of DITO, it is my honor to present to you DITO’s gift to the brave front liners of Davao and to the nine other cities in Visayas and Mindanao.
PART TWO
Sa mga kauban kong Davaoenos, salamat sa inspirasyon nga inyong gihatag sa akon. Sa mga tawo sa Bisaya ug Mindanao, una ka.
To the rest of the country, with this gesture, as a partner in nation building, we send the message to the people of the Philippines wherever they may be that DITO is more than just a telco.
We are here to serve, and, in this manner, we want the entire country to know na “DITO NA KAMI, DITO NA TAYO and magkita-kita tayo dyan very soon.”
