SINCE it expanded to Cebu, Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has reported it gained a stronger following with more Cebuanos subscribing to the firm’s fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) internet connection.
Converge chief executive officer and co-founder Dennis Anthony Uy said Converge logged thousands of new subscribers per month, reflecting a strong demand for fast and reliable internet connection during this pandemic.
“We’ve already hit the ground running when we had our soft launch in Cebu last November. Considering that we’ve only been operating in Mandaue and Cebu cities on a limited basis, we’ve already signed on thousands of subscribers and established partnerships with small and medium enterprise and enterprise clients,” he said, during the firm’s virtual conference on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021.
“We are pleased with the take-up in Cebu. There’s a strong growth in subscribers,” said Converge chief operating officer Jesus Romero, adding that the company will “fire up” Cebu in the coming weeks.
Converge said it has completed the initial phases of its domestic subsea cable network to the Visayas and Mindanao region, which led to the activation of an end-to-end nationwide backbone — bringing better quality internet connectivity to more households in the country.
More than 11,800 kilometers of fiber optic cable were added during the second quarter of the year, expanding the firm’s backbone and distribution network to almost 76,500 kilometers from about 64,600 kilometers laid down last quarter.
By July 2021, the firm’s fiber backbone had reached 80,500 kilometers.
“With our network expansion, we were able to extend our coverage to an additional 53 cities and municipalities during the second quarter of 2021, extending our services this quarter to new provinces, including Ilocos Norte, Cebu and Davao, among others,” the company said.
As of June 30, 2021, the company’s network has reached over 400 cities and municipalities nationwide.
Data center
Uy also said Converge is set to start the construction of a data center in Cebu as it prepares to serve the surge in the data requirements in the Visayas and Mindanao amid its aggressive expansion in central and southern Philippines.
The rise of a new state-of-the-art data center in Cebu supports the recently unveiled strategic framework of the Department of Information and Communications Technology for the country’s full and inclusive participation in the global digital economy which it called CHIP or connect, harness, innovate and protect — that would also serve as the driver of the Philippines’ digital transformation, the company said.
First half performance
Converge ended the second quarter of 2021 with 1,355,079 residential subscribers, up 85 percent compared to the same period last year.
It deployed a record 565,848 new FTTH ports during the quarter, more than twice the number of FTTH ports deployed during the same quarter the previous year.
As of June 30, Converge’s nationwide network reached more than 8.3 million homes, on track to reach the company’s target to cover approximately 55 percent of households in the Philippines by 2025.
With strong and continued subscriber take-up, the firm’s consolidated revenues grew by 81.5 percent from P6.5 billion in the first half of 2020 to P11.8 billion in the first half of 2021.
Revenues from its residential business more than doubled to P10.2 billion in the first half of this year, driven by an 85 percent year-on-year growth in its subscriber base and increase of seven percent in residential average monthly revenue per user.
Meanwhile, the company’s net income after tax more than doubled to P3.2 billion in the first half of 2021. (KOC)