Now Telecom Inc., a company controlled by the Velarde family, said it is open to a partnership with Dito Telecommunity (formerly Mislatel) owned by Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy to provide faster broadband connectivity in the country.
“Now remains confident and steadfast in its proven strategy of providing guaranteed broadband to enterprises. It is determined to expand its service offerings to new geographical markets. Part of this strategy is our willingness to entertain possible partnerships with other telecommunications companies,” Now Telecom president Rodolfo Pantoja said.
“We are always open to explore opportunities of partnership and collaboration with other players in the industry, to both local and foreign players. The same can be said to Dito Telecommunity,” he said.
Pantoja said the decentralized gigabit era would inevitably force disruptive innovations in the industry.
“Specializing in a specific market niche and partnering with the right entities are both essential in delivering profitability,” he said.
Pantoja said the entry of Dito would be net positive for the industry. “It provides a market signal that the government is in the liberalization phase of the telecommunications industry. This will ultimately benefit the consumers as the increased competition will stimulate improvements in quality of service, increase in service coverage and availability,” he said.
Dito, the consortium of led by Uy, was recently awarded a certificate of public convenience and necessity.
Now Telecom which was able to renew its congressional franchise under Republic Act No. 10972 last year is currently offering broadband internet access in Metro Manila through a fixed wireless microwave transmissions network. This enables Now to provide guaranteed internet speeds of up to 2.40 gigabits per second to enterprise customers.
This technology sets the stage for the full rollout of 5G by utilizing millimeter wave which exponentially increases internet speed and bandwidth capacity to subscribers, reaching up to 20 gbps in network capacity.
Now said with the growing global popularity of mmwave for 5G, it was confident that it could adopt new use cases, ICT applications and least-cost deployment solutions in the Philippines.
Now has connected more than 400 buildings in Metro Manila with each building capable of providing coverage of up to 2-km radius focusing on enterprises and multi-dwelling units such as commercial and residential buildings.
“We are the largest fixed wireless access provider in the country. And we maintain that vision as we provide guaranteed broadband to our customers”•both enterprises and residential buildings. We will leapfrog from this model and provide new generation technologies including 5G. Deployment plans are underway to serve the greater Metro Manila,” Now head of business development Kristian Pura said.
