DEPARTMENT of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)-Mindanao Cluster 3 (MC3) Director Erlito Tancontian said the coming of the third telco provider will further boost the economy of Mindanao.
After the Philippine government awarded the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (PCN) to Mislatel Consortium, which was later renamed to Dito Telecommunity Corporation, Tancontian said there might be a possibility that it will prioritize Mindanao, particularly Davao City.
"We can expect na uunahin ang Mindanao, particularly Davao City, kasi one of the owners of the consortium is Dennis Uy and probably, hometown talaga ang uunahin niya. Lalo na tayo sa Mindanao na we have long been deprived of these services, especially yung mga sulok natin walang connectivity," he said.
With the commitment of the third telco to provide connectivity services to about 37 percent of the total population of the country with 27 megabits per second (mbps) per subscriber, Tancontian believes this will help with the development of the business sector to become more globally competitive with faster and more reliable internet connection at a reduced cost.
He said the city has been growing for the last few years and a better connectivity will be another improvement opportunity for businesses in the city.
"Positive naman tayo na talagang maganda kung mayroon tayong third telco. Kung mas maraming kompetensya, mas maganda. Para naman yung dalawang telco will aim to give better services also. We hope they improve their services at we hope na mababa ang singilan. Cheaper but reliable," he said.
Meanwhile, ICT Davao President Attorney Samuel Matunog said the BPO and IT industry welcomes the new development as the competition will improve services and lower rates.
"[It will also] expand Internet access to the countryside, and therefore more employment opportunities in the rural areas. And will provide another layer of resiliency in the infrastructure, a guarantee required by clients abroad. There are more benefits we can cite, but on the whole we view this development positively," Matunog said.