Converge to reach Vismin in H2–exec

CONVERGE information and Communications technology Solutions inc. aims to launch its commercial services in various cities and municipalities in the visayas and Mindanao by the second half of the year.

this, according to Converge COO Jesus romero, as Converge is set to complete its national fiber backbone network as the submarine cables to link the islands in the visayas and Mindanao are ready for installation this month.

“Converge’s expansion to the visayas and Mindanao regions has been progressing as planned. By targeting to substantially complete our backbone by the first half of 2021, we hope to commercially launch by the second half of the year so that we can reach more provinces in need of world-class fixed broadband services,” romero said.

He said the expansion involves the deployment of 1,800 kilometers of submarine sea cables, connecting over 20 landing stations throughout the country.

According to romero, the cable stations have already been “substantially completed and they are now awaiting the vessel that will execute the submarine cable-laying operations.”

“We started Converge nine years ago with a dream to bring the world’s best broadband technology to majority of our people, and that is fiber optics. Our mission is to reach and connect underserved and unserved areas all over the country. Now we are one step closer to fulfilling this mission as we connect the vismin areas through our fiber backbone,” said dennis Anthony Uy, Converge CEO and Co-founder.

the expansion aims to cover provinces including davao, iloilo, Negros Occidental, starting with Bacolod City and Cagayan de Oro.

As of end-2020, Converge has completed and activated approximately 55,000 fiber route kilometers, reaching 316 cities and municipalities.

“Only about 10 percent of the market has been covered by highspeed broadband fiber internet. the completion of the company’s national backbone will steadily increase residential subscribers and enterprise segments,” said Uy.

Converge is spending P20 billion in capital expenditures this year to further expand its fiber network. With this capital spend, Converge hopes to increase its subscriber base from 1.04 million subscribers last year to as much as 1.7 million subscribers this year.

Converge reported record profits in 2020, when it booked a net income of P3.39 billion, a 78-percent surge from P1.94 billion the year prior, as its revenues grew by 71 percent to P15.65 billion from P9.14 billion.

the stellar performance of Converge is attributable to the huge jump that its residential subscriber base recorded—from 530,000 subscribers at end-2019 to 1.04 million subscribers at end-2020.

Converge’s consumer business contributed the largest to its revenues at P12.62 million, while its enterprise business contributed P3.02 billion.

the company is on track to achieve its target of reaching approximately 55 percent of total households in the country by 2025.