DITO Telecommunity Corp. said it is spending about P9 billion over the next two to three years to build more cell towers and reach 90 percent of the population.
DITO’s network coverage is at 86 percent at present.
“The average [investment per tower] for the industry is around $200,000,” said DITO president and chief executive Eric Alberto. The company would build 800 additional towers over the next two to three years, he said.
The company invested over P250 billion in the past five years to expand its network nationwide, resulting in a robust infrastructure with more than 7,000 cell sites.
DITO entered the Philippine telecommunications market on March 8, 2021 to challenge the duopoly by Globe Telecom and PLDT Inc.
The company earlier said it was on track to meet its goal of 16 million subscribers by end-2024. It expects to become EBITDA [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization] positive by end-2025 and profitable by end-2028.
Its parent firm, DITO CME Holdings Corp., earlier said it was aiming to raise up to P40.26 billion until 2028 to address its negative equity position and finance expansion plans.
The company raised P5.5 billion as of end-2023 through private investments made by third parties Xterra Ventures Pte Ltd., Summit Telco Corp. Pte Ltd. and Summit Telco Holdings Corp.
