DITO Telecommunity Corp., a subsidiary of DITO CME Holdings Corp., said Thursday it teamed up with Converge ICT Solutions Inc. to strengthen their network coverage nationwide.
The two companies signed a landmark master facilities provisioning agreement (MFPA) that will allow the two operators to share select terrestrial and submarine fiber optic cable assets.
The resource exchange arrangement will strengthen the network of both operators as it translates into expanded coverage and increased redundancy. It will also create savings from increased operational efficiencies and reduced capital expenditure requirements, the two parties said.
“We want to leverage our respective existing facilities through this resource sharing agreement to bring us closer to our goal of empowering every Filipino home with quality broadband connectivity,” said Converge chief executive and co-founder Dennis Anthony Uy.
Uy said the collaboration with Converge would allow the company to reach more customers and deliver a better service with increased resiliency.
“Under the spirit of forging alliances and healthy competition, this agreement is a testament to both our organizations’ shared commitment to provide the best user experience that our customers deserve—whether consumer or enterprise,” DITO Telecommunity chief executive Ernesto Alberto said.
Converge chief operations officer Jesus Romero said the milestone agreement propels both networks as the robust state-of-the-art pure fiber network of Converge matches the brand new network of DITO Telecommunity.
The total fiber assets of Converge spanned 682,000 fiber kilometers and passed over 16.7 million homes as of end-November 2023. Its coverage represented 62.3 percent of the total households in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, DITO Telecommunity has over 7,000 cell sites reaching over 80 percent of the population located in over 850 cities and municipalities. It has over 9.5 million activated subscribers enjoying access to a pure 4G/5G network unhindered by any legacy infrastructure.
DITO Telecommunity chief technology officer Rodolfo Santiago said the agreement strengthens both networks and “eliminates the costly time, motion, financial and manpower resources involved for such a network enhancement undertaking.”
The agreement underscores a pioneering effort to bolster network reliability, enhance fiber services for the over two million customers of Converge, and fortify mobile services for over 9.5 million registered subscribers of DITO Telecommunity, contributing to expedited coverage expansion and supporting the country’s digitalization initiatives.
The partnership aims to achieve lower downtime, faster throughput, and more reliable connectivity leading to a further enhancement of the user experience of Converge and DITO Telecommunity customers.
The two companies have yet to agree on separate facilities agreements specifying the location (routes), service restorations and first line maintenance of the covered facilities for each other’s usage.