MANILA - Third telco DITO Telecommunity will soon take on Globe Telecom and PLDT Inc in bid to grow its market share through a "service to service fight" when consumers have the power to jump from network to network, the new telco's officials said Monday.

DITO earlier said it aims to acquire at least 30 percent of the market share, shaking up the duopoly of Globe Telecom and PLDT Inc.

The number portability law will play a critical role in DITO's telco rise. Once implemented, the measure will allow consumers to keep their numbers regardless of telco provider and jump from one provider to the other, chief administrative officer Adel Tamano said.

"Once people can jump from one telco to another and the fight is on the basis of quality of service, our market share will take care of itself. The way things are moving it will be very good for the consumers. I think when we get to the service to service fight, why stick to 30 percent?," Tamano said during the telco's virtual launch.

Chief technology officer Rodolfo Santiago, meanwhile, said "we don't intend to remain as the third telco."

DITO, operated by Dennis Uy and China Telecom, is on track to meet its second year target of covering 51 percent of the population, in time for its second year technical audit on July 8, Santiago said.

It has committed to spending P257 billion in 5 years to cover 84 percent of the country's population, including areas previously considered not commercially viable.

Based on its first technical audit it registered 85.9 Mbps minimum speed for its 4G service with tests conducted without subscribers yet.

Internet speed will be at a minimum of 27 Mbps or more as DITO aims to become the best or at par with competition wherever they are available.

"Where we launch, we are better if not comparable to the incumbents," Santiago said.

DITO has unveiled a welcome offer of P199 for unlimited data and unlimited DITO-to-DITO on-net calls and on-net texts. However, no other data plans have been released.

On Monday, the third telco launched in 15 areas in Visayas and Mindanao, including Davao and Cebu. Its SIM cards are available online and via authorized selling points in the covered areas.

• DITO now available in Visayas, Mindanao; will be in NCR 'in a few weeks'

Tamano said the telco would be available in the National Capital Region (NCR) in "a few weeks" and across the country this year.

In a separate statement, Philippine Competition Commission chairman Arsenio Balisacan said DITO's launch is a major development in the telco space "that has long been ruled by dominant incumbents."

"Let competition run its course to see how the telco race will result in competitive pricing and raise the level of overall connectivity, quality, and coverage in the country," he said.

Balisacan said the agency would monitor competition to ensure players compete on fair terms.

Globe Telecom declined to issue a statement on DITO's launch. ABS-CBN News has also reached out to PLDT for comments.

Globe however is ramping up the promotion of its service brand GOMO, which offers non-expiring data loads and 30 GB for just P299.

• Globe's GOMO takes on DITO, offers no expiry 30GB data package for P299

Internet connectivity has been improving in the country due to the aggressive network expansions of telcos to improve services, DICT Secretary Gregorio Honasan said.

Average mobile download speeds in the country reached 25.77 Mbps in January, up from 22.5 Mbps in December, putting the Philippines at no. 86 in a ranking of 140 countries, based on Ookla’s 2021 Speedtest Global Index.

• Philippines moves up 10 spots in mobile internet speed ranking: Ookla

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