Velox bets on Phl telco shift under Konektadong Pinoy

Singapore-based Velox Networks is accelerating its push into the Philippine market, banking on regulatory reforms and what it sees as a structural gap in how businesses handle communications.

In an exclusive interview with DAILY TRIBUNE, Velox founder and CEO Martin Nygate said the Philippines remains heavily reliant on outdated telephony systems and informal communication tools, a combination he described as inefficient and risky.

“95 percent of all PBXs here are analog boxes… and they’re no longer supported,” Nygate said, referring to legacy private branch exchange systems widely used by companies.

He said many businesses have effectively abandoned these systems, opting instead to use personal mobile phones and apps like WhatsApp for day-to-day operations.

“That’s a huge risk,” he said. “It’s such a big risk today that most companies in the Western world no longer allow staff to use their personal phones.”

Velox is positioning itself as an alternative through cloud telephony, a system that allows companies to manage calls, messaging and communications over the internet without physical infrastructure.

“There’s no installation, no hardware, no setup. We can have this deployed and running within 24 hours,” Nygate said.

He added that the model eliminates reliance on copper-based networks, which still dominate the Philippine telecom landscape.

“[Companies] base their telephony platform on copper cables… that’s why you have the ‘spaghetti wires’ problem,” he said, referring to overhead cables cluttering urban areas.

KP opens the door

Velox’s expansion comes after the passage of Republic Act 12234, or the Konektadong Pinoy Act, which aims to open the telecommunications sector to more players and improve infrastructure efficiency.

Nygate said the law makes it easier for companies like Velox to operate by removing ownership and access restrictions that previously limited entry.

“Before, it was difficult to issue local numbers. Now we can do it ourselves. We can now grow massively,” he said.

The company has built a 12-person team across Manila and Cebu and is ramping up hiring as it targets both enterprise and public sector clients.

Not competing with telcos

Despite entering the telecom space, Velox is not positioning itself as a direct competitor to major players like PLDT and Globe.

“We don’t want to compete. We want to partner,” Nygate said.

He noted that large telecom firms are structured to serve either mass consumers or large enterprises, leaving small and medium-sized businesses underserved.

Velox instead plans to offer its platform to telcos or work alongside them, particularly for consumer-scale deployment.

One of Velox’s key selling points is cost.

The company said it can offer enterprise-grade telephony at significantly lower prices than traditional systems, with some consumer-level offerings projected at around P184 per month for unlimited domestic calls between users using a local phone number.

“There’s no concept of roaming charges. There is no concept of geography,” Nygate said.

Regulatory gaps

While Nygate welcomed the new law, he said gaps remain, particularly in regulating interconnection charges between telecom providers.

He explained that when a user on one network calls another, telcos charge each other fees, which are then passed on to consumers.

Nygate argued that these charges have no clear basis in a fully digital system.

“There’s no real reason for this. It’s all computerized. There’s no logic behind it,” he said, noting that in many countries, regulators have eliminated such fees, allowing free domestic calls.

He said the Philippines lacks a strong regulatory framework to oversee interconnect charges and enforce fair access to networks.

Another gap, he added, is the absence of full number portability for landlines.

“If businesses switch providers, they often lose their number. That shouldn’t happen,” he said, noting that in other markets, regulators require telcos to allow number transfers at minimal cost and within fixed timelines.

A market ready to shift

Velox believes the Philippines is at an inflection point, driven by improving internet infrastructure, rising adoption of satellite connectivity in rural areas, and growing demand for digital-first systems.

“You already have a network. It’s called the internet,” Nygate said.

For Velox, the opportunity lies in helping businesses leapfrog from legacy systems to cloud-based infrastructure.

“We’re not talking about gradual upgrades,” he said. “We’re talking about moving from a third-world system to a first-world platform overnight.”