Telecom giants PLDT Inc., Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), and DITO Telecommunity signed an infrastructure-sharing agreement on Friday to expand network coverage and boost digital inclusion nationwide.
“Connecting the country is a responsibility that all of us share as Philippine telcos,” PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said in an announcement.
“This agreement reflects that, at the same time as we compete within the marketplace, we will collaborate where it matters essentially the most: accelerating digital inclusion, helping connect every Filipino, and creating greater opportunities for our people and our nation,” he added.
The collaboration between industry rivals allows firms to chop digital infrastructure expansion costs by establishing a reciprocal resource-sharing framework.
Under the non-monetary agreement, firms will share the usage of eligible tower sites, telecommunications infrastructure inside business buildings and other indoor locations, and submarine cable capability for existing international connectivity assets.
The businesses noted that the partnership will allow them to maximise the usage of existing macro sites and in-building infrastructure, expand network coverage, and avoid duplicative investments.
“This partnership that we’re forging today is a modest one,” DITO Telecommunity President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Alberto said in an announcement.
“This enables each firms to deliver a lot better services for all our respective customers,” he added. “May this partnership usher and blossom into many more things in order that we will have meaningful results for our firms, and more importantly, for the betterment of services for all our respective customers.”
The Philippines currently has a complete of 137 million lively cellular mobile connections and 98 million web users as of 2025, in keeping with a report by DataReportal. — Almira Louise S. Martinez