Converge ICT Solutions Inc. expects its subscriber base in the Bicol region to grow by “nearly 80 percent” as it expands its network to cover nearly half of the entire population in the region before the end of 2021.
Converge CEO Dennis Anthony Uy said the group is “aggressively expanding” in the region, which is part of the domestic fiber backbone that will interconnect the Philippine islands.
“The solid increase in our customer base in Region V is hinged on our entry into Masbate, and our deeper presence in the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Sorsogon,” he said in a statement.
Converge has landed its pure fiber domestic subsea backbone in three points: Pasacao in Camarines Sur, Masbate City, and Milagros in Masbate.
These complete the company’s redundancy loop that starts in San Juan, Batangas and passes through Roxas-Mindoro, Boracay, Roxas-Iloilo and ends in Milagros, Masbate.
Uy said these loops provide an alternate route for internet traffic to go through in the case of an outage or failure, caused by a natural disaster, on the primary route of the subsea cables. This network safeguard enhances the overall network redundancy of Converge.
With the expansion of its network in the region, coupled with consumer initiatives, Uy said the group sees its subscriber base to grow by nearly 80 percent, while its fiber penetration rate is “expected to reach up to 45 percent by the end of the year.”