THE 30-day audit of DITO Telecommunity Corp.’s connectivity and internet speeds in various areas of the Philippines has officially started, the telco startup announced on Thursday.
In an e-mailed statement, DITO Telecommunity said it recently notified the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) of its “readiness for the January 7, 2021 technical audit.”
“The chosen independent auditor, R.G. Manabat & Co. (an affiliate of KPMG, an international audit firm), is set to test the connectivity and internet speeds in various areas to ensure that DITO complies with its requirement to cover 37% of the population and provide a minimum average internet speed of 27 megabits per second,” the telco startup said.
The field assessment is expected to be completed within 30 days. It will take another 15 days to complete the final audit report, the company said.
It said the auditor uses “a percentage of the identified 1,600 sites that covers 8,800 barangays in the Philippines as base for the audit.”
DITO Chief Administrative Officer Adel A. Tamano said the results of the technical audit will not affect the telco startup’s planned commercial launch in March.
“As I have said before, DITO Telecommunity is poised to finally offer its services to the Filipino people in March, world-class connectivity that they truly deserve, as we launch commercially,” he noted.
In December, DITO announced that some former military men have joined the company amid security concerns over its partnership with a Chinese telecommunications firm. — Arjay L. Balinbin
