DITO Telecommunity Corp. (DITO Tel) said that it would be investing about P9 billion over the next two to three years to build more cell towers and reach 90 percent of the population.

Eric Alberto, DITO president and chief executive, said the company was planning building 800 additional towers over the next two to three years to meet the population coverage goal.

Network coverage currently stands at 86 percent.

"The average [investment per tower] for the industry is around $200,000 [approximately P11.7 billion]," Alberto said.

The company said that it had invested over P250 billion in the past five years to expand its network nationwide to more than 7,000 cell sites.

DITO Tel entered the Philippine telecommunications market on March 8, 2021, aiming to challenge the duopoly dominated by Globe Telecom and PLDT Inc.

The company has said it is on track to meet its goal of 16 million subscribers by the end of 2024.

The company expects to post positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization by the end of 2025 and to become profitable by end of 2028.

Its parent firm, DITO CME Holdings Corp., earlier said it aimed to raise up to P40.26 billion until 2028 to address its negative equity positions and finance its expansion plans.

The company has already raised P5.5 billion as of end-2023 through private investments made by third parties Xterra Ventures Pte Ltd., Summit Telco Corporation Pte Ltd., and Summit Telco Holdings Corp.

Shares of parent company DITO CME grew by 5.94 percent to close at P2.14 each last Friday.