MANILA - Converge ICT can boost the speed of its baseline subscribers from 35Mbps to 50 Mbps or even 100Mbps this year if it hits its milestone of getting 1.75 million subscribers before the end of 2021, the telco’s CEO said on Wednesday.

Converge CEO Dennis Anthony Uy said the company already has the technology to do this as the country’s pure-play high-speed fixed broadband operator.

“Actually with the technology we have right now we can compete with our Asian peers, even Singapore, Korea and Hong Kong because the technology they are using, and what I’m using right now, is the same,” Uy said in an interview with ANC Market Edge.

Uy said Converge did this last year when it boosted the speed of its baseline subscribers from 25 Mbps to 35 Mbps for free, to mark the company’s milestone of signing up 1 million users.

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Singapore is currently number 1 in Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index April ranking for fixed broadband, with an average download speed 245.5 Mbps. South Korea is second with 241.58 Mbps, while Hong Kong is third with 240.83 Mbps.

The Philippines is currently at 80th place with an average speed of 49.31 Mbps, up 1 notch from March.

The Global average download speed is 102.12 Mbps.
Uy however said that speeds of up to 1Gbps will be possible “in the future” because Converge already has the technology for this.

“We have that tech now, we deliver 1 Gig (Gbps) to the home now. Some customers getting 400 (Mbps), we double the speed and we give them 800,” he added.

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Converge is unfazed by the entry of DITO Telecommunity in the National Capital Region, where many of the company’s subscribers reside, Uy said.

Uy said there was “a lot of room for growth” for all players as the current number of fiber connections to the home are still way below what the market can absorb.

He estimates that there are less than 4 million home broadband subscribers today, while the market is expected to grow to up to 12 million subscribers by 2025.

DITO meanwhile has said that it will focus on delivering mobile broadband for now, as this is easier to roll out than direct-to-home fiber.

Converge said it is optimistic about its growth prospects as it is completing its nationwide backbone expansion to Visayas and Mindanao, with commercial launch in selected regions on track for the second half of the year.