Converge eyes new subsea cable system

MANILA, Philippines — Broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has engaged multiple firms in Asia and North America to possibly install a new subsea cable that will serve the connectivity requirements of both regions.

Converge plans to jump on another consortium made up of foreign telcos to link the Philippines to another international cable system in Asia and the US.

Converge CEO and co-founder Dennis Anthony Uy said the internet provider has started talking to telco operators in Asia-Pacific to explore the possibility of building a new underwater cable in the region.

Uy said that Converge wants to increase data capacity to ensure the redundancy and reliability of its connectivity services. At present, Converge is completing two subsea cable systems that seek to speed up the arrival of data from abroad.

However, Uy said Converge has yet to close any deal from these preliminary talks. Further, the broadband provider will assess first whether its budget for capital expenditures this year can fund another large-scale project such as an international cable system.

“We are studying our capex if we can join a consortium for another cable,” Uy said.

For this year, Converge decided to reduce its capex by almost half to P12 billion from P22 billion in 2022, as the firm hopes to avert financial risks caused by rising borrowing costs.

For Converge, building another subsea cable in the region will bolster its capacity to host data from online platforms that Filipinos love to use, particularly Facebook, Google and Netflix.

Uy finds it necessary to connect international cable systems with the US in particular, where the head offices of most tech giants are located. Through these underwater assets, the Philippines can exchange volumes and volumes of data abroad at a quick pace to the benefit of subscribers.

“Actually, most of our (data) traffic originates from the US. We are not like China that produces its own content, as well as Indonesia that makes its own content, too,” Uy said.

Converge serves as a party to the South East Asia Hainan-Hong Kong Express Cable System that aims to connect China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand and will be activated by 2024.

Likewise, the broadband provider has invested P5 billion to hook up to the Bifrost Cable System that will facilitate data transfer between Singapore and North America upon completion in 2024.