Converge’s 2-M reach mirrors strong demand for cheap internet plans

Converge ICT Solutions Inc.'s low-cost plans have reached more than two million homes, which signifies the strong mass market demand for efficient and affordable internet services.

Converge CEO and Co-Founder Dennis Anthony Uy said on Monday that the company will beef up its product portfolio to better serve customers from different income groups.

"We are proud to mark this milestone in our mission to leave no one behind as we empower Filipinos with world-class fiber connectivity. This is a result of our effort to expand growth opportunities through providing more affordable connectivity solutions," Uy said.

Converge finished the first half of the year with a total of 1.97 million residential subscribers, including 1.92 million postpaid and 54,000 prepaid customers. It gained over 92,000 net additional subscribers from January to June.

Citing internal data, Converge said August has been its best-performing month in terms of sales. As such, analysts expect an upsurge in sales in the second half of the year.

"We are encouraged by the continued growth of our residential subscriber base in the first half of 2023. This is further proof of the superiority of our broadband product, coupled with our people's laser focus on meeting customers' needs," said Converge COO Jesus C. Romero.

Converge has launched a prepaid product called Surf2Sawa or S2S, which is gaining traction among budget-conscious customers.

The market's positive reception of the product was reflected in the 77 percent growth, with over 25,000 net additions in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter.

Its postpaid subscribers sustained its steady growth as the newly-introduced low-cost postpaid plan BIDA Fiber complemented the company's core product, FiberX, which starts at P1,500 a month with a speed of 200 Mbps.

Meanwhile, BIDA Fiber costs P888 per month with a speed of 35 Mbps to connect a maximum of six devices. All three products (FiberX, BIDA, and S2S) offer unlimited data consumption.

Converge presently operates the biggest fiber-to-the-home network in the country with more than 7.8 million ports nationwide, as of the first half of the year, as well as one of the country's most extensive cable systems with 670,000-kilometer fiber backbone.

As of the end of June 2023, its network infrastructure has passed over 16.6 million Filipino homes, equivalent to 62.3 percent of household coverage nationwide.