CEBU CITY, Philippines — As Dito Telecommunity nears its target rollout this July 2020, executives of the country’s third telecommunication company, has started talks with local government units in Cebu.

Executives from Dito Telecom met with Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes on Friday, February 7, 2020, along with the the chiefs of the city’s villages.

According to the city’s Public Information Office, the meeting centered on the company’s plans and programs of work that within Mandaue City.

“Mandaue’s strong internet connection and signal for Mandauehanons is one of their prime goals once the project is approved and will have its success,” the PIO captioned the photos of the mayor’s meeting with the telco executives.

In July 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte granted the Dennis Uy-led firm a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) paving the way for Dito Telecom, formerly known as Mindanao Islamic Telephone Co. (Mislatel), to be the third telco player in the country.

Last January 24, 2020, Dito Telecom’s executives also visited Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas where they presented their plan to install microcell towers in the city.

“I stressed the importance gyud na maka public hearing sa [barangay] because all the concerns by our constituents will be heard by the company,” Gullas said in an earlier post on Dito executives’ visit.

The village chiefs where the proposed microcell sites are planned to be installed, Gullas said, were also called into the meeting.

Dito Telecom’s promises as it enters as the third telco player include the delivery of an average internet speed of 27 megabits per second (Mbps) in its first year of operation. The company also promised to double its average speed to 55 Mbps by its second year up to its fifth year in operations.

The third telco also committed to a 37 percent of nationwide coverage in its first year of operations./dbs