DITO, Converge ink resources-sharing agreement

DITO Telecommunity Corporation and Converge ICT Solutions, Inc signed on Thursday, Jan. 11, an agreement that would allow the mutual beneficial use of their respective resources and facilities to improve internet services in the country.

The Materials Facilities Provisioning Agreement (MFPA) is a framework on collaboration of infrastructure, specifically selected terrestrial and submarine fiber optic cable assets agreed upon by the telcos.

Underscoring Converge and DITO’s binary effort and shared goal to advance internet services, the agreement aims to strengthen their networks by expanding coverage while reducing redundancy, particularly in operation costs, and upcoming capital expenditure requirements.

Converge CEO and Co-Founder Dennis Uy said the collaboration was made to “allow them to reach more customers and deliver a better service with increased resiliency.”

Converge Chief Operations Officer Jesus Romero mentioned that its pure fiber network has been complimentary to the brand new network of DITO.

The signed framework does not yet detail the quantity and portions of the shared infrastructure.

However, in a press briefing on Jan. 11, DITO Telecommunity Corporation’s Chief Technology Officer MGen. Rodolfo Santiago said that they have initially identified six areas of concern for Converge and DITO respectively, where they are finalizing the implementaton plan to make it possible as soon as possible.

DITO Telecommunity CEO Ernesto Alberto mentioned that, upon further review, there may be as many as 30 points all over the country, as needed or deemed beneficial for customers.

“Sharing those [infrastructure] with Converge eliminates incremental costs for us and at the same time, expanding our networks and providing for strengthening our networks with resiliency and diversity,” said Alberto.

Converge’s total fiber assets span 682,000 fiber kilometers as of November 2023, covering 62.3 percent or 16.7 million homes in the country.

DITO Telecommunity has more than 7,000 cell sites in 850 cities and municipalities, with over 9.5 milion activated subscribers of their pure 4G/5G network.