MANILA, Philippines – Fiber broadband services provider Converge announced its plans to roll out its network to Visayas and Mindanao as well as expand and improve services in Luzon.
The 5-year project is expected to cost $2 billion as the company invests in the construction of network backbones nationwide.
Converge is working with 3 international subcontractors for the project: Korea Telecoms, LSI-Fibernet Konstrukt Corporation, and TE Connectivity Subcom. Korea Telecoms and LSI-Fibernet Konstrukt Corporation will be laying out the terrestrial backbone in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, while TE Connectivity Subcom will be laying out the submarine backbone in the Visayas connecting the multiple large islands in the region.
The 3 subcontractors were chosen for their "wide-ranging technical expertise and extensive business portfolios in the IT industry," Converge said.
Converge's rollout is expected to reach 13 million of the 22 million households nationwide, the company said.
Currently, home fixed broadband internet penetration in the Philippines is less than 15%, and fiber-powered home services are at less than 5%, said Converge CEO Dennis Uy.
With the nationwide rollout, he said he hopes to make fiber-powered broadband internet more accessible and more affordable to Filipinos, and hopes that it may serve as a catalyst to social and economic progress.
The company currently offers a competitive, non-capped 25Mbps connection at P1500 monthly, headlining its list of both consumer and enterprise services.
The firm started offering their services in Pampanga in 2009, before expanding to surrounding regions in Central Luzon, eventually setting up shop in Metro Manila. While Converge's nationwide project is a 5-year plan, Uy says that they're aiming for earlier completion by 2021, with segments of the project becoming operational as they are finished.
Segments of the Luzon rollout are expected to be completed as early as the end of 2018 while phases of the Visayas and Mindanao rollout are expected to be completed by mid-2019, and early 2020, respectively.
Converge as third telco?
In a group interview, Uy said they have no plans to be the country's third telco, which many see as a way to break up the perceived Smart-Globe duopoly in mobile services.
Uy doesn't dismiss the possibility, but for them to seriously consider it, he said they'll need government-led changes including the freeing up of unused frequencies currently held by the telcos, the removal of interconnection charges between different networks, and the portability of a phone number if a consumer decides to switch to another network.
If these issues can be addressed, the environment will theoretically be more feasible for Converge or another private company to be the third telco.
Without interconnection charges, consumers will be more willing to try out a newer network with a smaller user base as opposed to sticking to a network where most of their contacts are. With number portability, consumers will be able to try a new network without leaving behind the number they've long been associated with.
That said, Uy said laying out the nationwide backbone is the top priority, seeking to be operational as soon as possible. Other service providers, Uy finishes, will also be able to latch on to their fiber backbone. – Rappler.com
