MANILA - Some users in Davao City who bought DITO sim cards said the new telco provides fast mobile download speeds but also reported initial problems connecting to other telco networks.

DITO began commercial operations in Davao City on March 8, and many city residents lined up to buy sim cards from the new telco, hoping that it will deliver better service than their existing telco.

Call center agent Jess Exclamador said he was satisfied with the 18 Mbps download speed, noting that playing Youtube videos no longer required buffering.

"Compared sa previous sim ko, mabilis talaga to. Malaki ang kanyang difference. Nagustohan ko ang DITO dahil sa speed ng internet at walang data capping," he said.

(Compared to my previous sim, this is really fast. There’s a big difference. I really like DITO because of the internet speed and it has no data capping.)

The Dennis Uy-led telco is offering unlimited internet connection for P199 from March 8 to March 31 as part of its initial rollout promo.

Francis Magbanua, a government employee, meanwhile said the download speed reached up to 14.3 Mbps while upload speed reached 25.8 Mbps.

Anthony Rebamonte, a teacher, meanwhile recorded a download speed of 49.1 Mbps and upload speed of 23 Mbps.

However, Rebamonte and Magbanua also said they initially experienced problems calling, and sending and receiving text messages to other networks.

But the problem also went away a few days later, they said.

“Kanina, sinubukan kong tumawag sa Globe, okay naman pala. Nagulat nga ako kasi nung first time na tumawag ako ilang araw na ang nakalipas, hindi ako maka-connect,” Rebamonte said.

(I tried calling Globe earlier, it was OK. I was surprised because the first time I tried it days ago, it could not connect.)

ABS-CBN News asked DITO to comment on the users’ initial problems connecting with other networks, but the telco has yet to reply as of this posting.

• Globe inks interconnection deal with DITO for mobile calls, SMS
• PLDT, DITO sign interconnection deal for fixed, wireless subscribers

DITO has said that it now covers over 37.5 percent of the population based on its first technical audit and is on track to meet its second year target of covering 51 percent of the population.

The new telco, however, has rolled out services in only 15 areas in Visayas and Mindanao and advised customers that its network is not compatible with all handsets.

DITO meanwhile has turned over mobile phones and is giving free service to Davao City frontliners as part of its commercial launch and corporate social responsibility program

- Report from Hernel Tocmo, ABS-CBN News