Converge installs nearly 5.5M pure fiber ports nationwide

 MINERVA BC NEWMAN

CEBU CITY – Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has installed nearly 5.5M ports as of October 2021 connecting the Philippines with pure fiber connectivity from the northernmost region of Luzon to the islands of the Visayas and the southern cities of Mindanao through its #PurpleNation campaign.

Converge CEO and Co-Founder Dennis Anthony Uy bared that the pure fiber operator’s swift port deployment reached its goal of covering 55 percent of Philippine households, reaching more unserved and underserved areas in the country with high-speed fiber connectivity by two years to 2023.

As of end-November, Converge has opened 23 business centers nationwide, with the latest one opened in Sorsogon in Bicol. Converge also expanded its footprint last October in Cagayan de Oro and Iloilo.

 “We’ve achieved a record rollout of 654,188 ports in the third quarter of 2021 alone, a solid testament to the robust demand we continue to see throughout the country. In our new markets in Visayas and Mindanao, we’re glad to see a healthy uptake as 20 percent of the fiber rollouts were in these areas,” Uy said.

The #PurpleNation campaign, according to Uy marked its nationwide presence with the opening of over 20 new business centers across the country this year.  Among the branches that recently opened to serve its growing customer base are located in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte; Candon, Ilocos Sur; La Trinidad, Benguet; Tuguegarao, Cagayan; and Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya in Northern Luzon; Gapan, Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon; Valenzuela and San Juan City in Metro Manila; Batangas City and Lemery, Batangas; and Imus and Dasmarinas, Cavite in Southern Luzon; Sorsogon in the Bicol Region; Iloilo City in the Visayas; and Cagayan de Oro and Davao City in Mindanao.

Converge now services over 440 municipalities and cities across the country with a total number of residential subscribers reaching nearly 1.6 million at the end of September 2021, almost double compared to the same period last year, Uy bared. 

He went on that Converge completed its domestic subsea cable project just this November, connecting all the major islands of the Philippines to its national fiber backbone.  With this digital highway finished, “we are one step closer to its dream of bringing internet access to every Filipino home.’

Given the shift of every activity to the online space, access to the internet should no longer be a privilege but should be a right of every Filipino. The social and economic benefits that connectivity (particularly broadband) unlocks has to reach those at the margins,” Uy added.

The #PurpleNation campaign encapsulates the widespread expansion of the fiber network in new and emerging markets in VisMin, North Luzon, South Luzon, and Bicol as represented by the brand’s distinctive purple color.