October 10, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Broadband specialist Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has tapped a Nasdaq-listed manufacturer to become its supplier of fiber lines for its subsea cable and expansion projects.
Converge yesterday announced that it has selected Infinera Corp. as its vendor for the submarine line terminal equipment (SLTE) of the Philippine branch of the Bifrost Cable System.
Converge also tapped Infinera as its new partner for the upgrade of its terrestrial assets across the Philippines, confirming that the provider is planning to set up additional fiber.
Converge CEO and co-founder Dennis Anthony Uy said the operator picked Infinera based on its track record in subsea networking.
By teaming up with Infinera, Converge hopes that it can build its part in Bifrost at the lowest cost over the longest distances.
Once the SLTE is deployed, Converge will benefit from the high-speed optics and new solutions offered by Infinera.
Uy trusts that Infinera would improve both the terrestrial and subsea reach of Converge, allowing the internet service provider to grow its subscribers more.
“Leveraging Infinera’s innovative solution, Converge will be able to effectively scale up to meet rapidly growing bandwidth demands across the Philippines and the entire Asia and the Pacific,” Uy said.
Converge entered into an agreement with Keppel Midgard Holdings Pte. Ltd. in 2021 to take part in Bifrost, with the company investing at least P5 billion to become a party.
Bifrost will span more than 15,000 kilometers, extending between the American West Coast and Singapore through Guam, also reaching Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore.
Bifrost comes with a design capacity of 15 terabits per second each way, and it is scheduled to be completed within the year.
Converge is linking Bifrost to the Philippines through Davao, giving the country another receptor for international data.
Converge boasts of a fiber network of over 707,000 kilometers in the country, maintaining a subscriber base of 2.35 million as of June, backed by surging demand for connectivity services. At this rate, the provider is able to reach around 16 million homes.
The company has allocated P12 billion to P14 billion for capital expenditures to build new underwater cables and data centers, with P4.7 billion spent in the first semester.
Converge expects more spending in the second half, when it is slated to settle progress payments for subsea cables.
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