DITO Telecommunity Corp.’s user download experience scores were just around or below the all-operator average in its first few months of service in areas where it has higher levels of adoption, such as Central Metro Cebu, Davao City, and Metro Manila, Opensignal said. 

“[S]o far, DITO’s entry into the Filipino mobile market is evolutionary, not revolutionary, for mobile experience because DITO’s scores were mostly similar to — or below — the overall scores of all operators, with the exception of upload speed experience in both Central Metro Cebu and Metro Manila,” mobile analytics company Opensignal said in its latest analysis released on Aug. 30. 

Opensignal’s analysis was based on data collected from March 8 to Aug. 4 in Davao City and Central Metro Cebu, and from May 17 to Aug. 14 in Metro Manila.  

DITO users’ download speed experience score in Davao City was higher than the all-operator average in its first month of service, with 16 Megabits per second (Mbps) versus the average of 12 Mbps. 

DITO went below the all-operator average speed in the following 30 days at 9.5 Mbps versus the average of 12.4 Mbps from April 7 to May 6, 11.1 Mbps versus the average of 12.9 Mbps from May 7 to June 5, 9.4 Mbps versus 13.5 Mbps from June 6 to July 5, and 10.7 Mbps versus 13.7 Mbps from July 6 to Aug. 4. 

In Central Metro Cebu — composed of Cebu City, Consolacion, Cordoba, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, and Talisay City — DITO’s download speed experience score was also higher than the all-operator average in its first month of commercial operations, with 16.2 Mbps versus the all-operator average of 13 Mbps. However, it declined to 10.6 Mbps versus the average of 13.1 Mbps from April 7 to May 6, 11.4 Mbps versus 13.8 Mbps from May 7 to June 5, 13.5 Mbps versus 14.9 Mbps from June 6 to July 5, and 11.3 Mbps versus 12.9 Mbps from July 6 to Aug. 4. 

In Metro Manila, DITO’s download speed experience score was slightly lower in its first month of service (May 17 to Jun 15) with 20.4 Mbps versus the all-operator average of 20.6 Mbps. It decreased to 17.3 Mbps versus the average of 20.6 Mbps from June 16 to July 15 and 17.5 Mbps versus 20.8 Mbps from July 16 to Aug. 14. 

“The initial declines in the average speeds seen by our DITO users are not surprising. It’s common for initial network launches to lead to a volatile network experience. On the one hand, operators will be working to solve early teething issues with the network and be adding base stations and capacity which should boost experience,” Opensignal said. 

“But equally, the network will be gaining customers and data consumption will be rising which may act as a drag on network experience. So, early analysis is an important indicator, but it’s essential to continue to analyze how mobile experience changes over time,” it added. 

DITO’s upload speed experience scores were better than the all-operator average scores in Metro Manila and Central Metro Cebu. 

From July 6 to Aug. 4, for instance, DITO’s upload speed experience score in Metro Cebu was 5.6 Mbps versus the average of 4 Mbps. In Metro Manila, users experienced an upload speed of 7.2 Mbps versus the average of 5 Mbps from July 16 to Aug. 14. Upload speed experience scores were lowest in Davao City, with 3.1 Mbps versus the average of 3.5 Mbps from June 6 to July 5 and 3.1 Mbps versus the average of 3.6 Mbps from July 6 to Aug. 4. 

“Given that DITO’s competitors — Globe and Smart — have had far longer to roll out their own 4G (fourth-generation) networks, these initial results are impressive and bode well for the market’s long-term competitiveness — particularly if DITO can increase capacity to keep up with the influx of new users… as it grows,” Opensignal said. 

Asked to comment, DITO Chief Administrative Officer Adel A. Tamano said in a statement: “We at DITO Telecommunity would wish to defer to the official audit results to be released by the independent auditor chosen by the National Telecommunications Commission likely within the month.” 

“As the number of DITO subscribers that currently stands at nearly three million continues to grow, and as we further optimize our network, we wish to assure everyone that DITO Telecommunity will continue to work even harder to deliver on our promise of better service, affordable, fast, and world class connectivity that Filipinos truly deserve,” he added. — Arjay L. Balinbin 

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