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 we all share as Philippine telcos,” PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said in a statement.
“This agreement reflects that, even as we compete in the marketplace, we can collaborate where it matters 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 companies to cut digital infrastructure expansion costs by establishing a reciprocal resource-sharing framework.
Under the non-monetary agreement, companies will share the use of eligible tower sites, telecommunications infrastructure within commercial buildings and other indoor locations, and submarine cable capacity for existing international connectivity assets.
The companies noted that the partnership will allow them to maximize the use of existing macro sites and in-building infrastructure, expand network coverage, and avoid duplicative investments.
“This partnership that we are forging today is a modest one,” DITO Telecommunity President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Alberto said in a statement.
“This allows both companies to deliver much better services for all our respective customers,” he added. “May this partnership usher and blossom into many more things so that we can have meaningful results for our companies, and more importantly, for the betterment of services for all our respective customers.”
The Philippines currently has a total of 137 million active cellular mobile connections and 98 million internet users as of 2025, according to a report by DataReportal. — Almira Louise S. Martinez
