Converge completes submarine cable project

LISTED Converge ICT Solutions Inc. completed its P6-billion domestic submarine cable project, which connects the Visayas and Mindanao region to its national fiber backbone.

In a statement on Friday, the fiber internet provider said the 1,800-kilometer subsea cable will make its final landing in Coron in Palawan on Oct. 31, 2021.

Converge noted that the subsea cables were laid out in a way that there is redundancy in the network to ensure continued service in case of fiber cuts.

“We’re pleased to announce the completion of our domestic network’s primary and secondary routes, which span the entirety of the country. Not only does this ensure availability of the service nationwide, but with the network design, we’re assured to have a resilient backbone that’s able to carry the tremendous data traffic driven by our million-plus customers,” Converge Chief Executive Officer Dennis Anthony Uy was quoted as saying.

The company said the Visayas and Mindanao were interconnected during Phase 1 of the rollout, first landing in Cebu and Cagayan de Oro while it reentered the Visayas through Roxas City and Mindanao through Agusan del Norte in Phase 2.

Converge said they make use of 48 fiber core optical cables running on 400G and 800G technology.

“More than the interconnection of the major islands, we’ve achieved a high level of resiliency in the network by ‘closing’ the loops on our primary and secondary routes,” Uy added.

Last month, Converge also announced that it has completed its fiber optic loop in North Luzon making its network in the region completely redundant.

Converge said it remains on track to meet its target of covering 55 percent of local households by 2025.

The firm’s network reached more than 8.3 million homes in the first half of the year while household coverage was at 32.5 percent during the period.

Converge posted a more than doubled net income of P3.25 billion in January to June from P1.26 billion year-on-year.

Shares of Converge on Friday lost P1.05, or 3.2 percent, to close at P31.80 each.