DITO is now officially available in NCR! Dito cell towers have been active for a couple of months now but before May 17, you can't buy DITO sim cards on official channels. Now that DITO is available in Metro Manila through different channels, I purchased a sim card from Lazada and in this video we will explore what DITO has to offer and if there's any difference between now and before their official launch.
Purchasing a DITO sim card is easy and was delivered immediately in just 1 day. The package includes the sim card and a sim ejector pin which comes in handy. Curiously, DITO let's you choose a simcard specific for your cellphone brand. I purchased one for samsung and inserted it to my POCO F3, which as of today is not yet officially part of the DITO compatible list of devices.
Surprisingly, I had no issues with the sim card compared to my earlier purchase wherein I had to set-up the APN settings just to get an LTE signal. The voLTE icon appeared on my phone which is a clear indication that I dont need to change any setting for LTE.
Upon inserting the sim card an obtaining a signal, you'll receive a welcome message and a DITO app download link and the initial password to register your phone Number on the app.
The app is pretty simple, it's easy to navigate and shows you your current remaining data and call minutes. You can also purchase load and subscribe to promos within the app. Current payments methods are credit or debit cards, grabpay, gcash, and wechat pay.
In terms of speed, the fastest download speed I got was 10.7mbps and upload speed at 12.4mbps. I performed the test in the 3rd floor of our house as well as outside. Unfortunately there was no DITO signal inside our house if I'm on the ground floor.
Based on the app there's no 5G yet in Metro Manila so it would be useless to compare DITO to Globe or Smart in a 5G covered area but interestingly, the LTE upload speed of DITO is faster than 5G of Globe.
Comparing to my test a few weeks ago on the same spot, the speed seems to have slowed down probably due to the increasing number of DITO subscribers which might congest their network.
Would I recommend DITO? As a secondary number yes, especially if your area already has 5G or at least have a good LTE signal and your primary purpose is for the internet connection. With their current promo, you'll only spend below Php8 per Gigabyte and its valid for 1 month. But if your main purpose is for calls and texts, might as well stick to your current number because aside from good call and text promos from Globe and Smart, I find texting all your contacts updating them of your new number a very tiring process.
