Converge to invest over $100M in transpacific cable system
LISTED fiber internet provider Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. announced on Wednesday that it would invest more than $100 million in a new transpacific cable system aimed at increasing internet speeds and network diversity in the country.
“Our investment into one full fiber pair, connecting us to Singapore and the west coast of North America, will allow us to independently activate at will up to 15Tbps (terabits per second) of capacity to either country using the latest technology,” Converge Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Dennis Anthony H. Uy said in an e-mailed statement.
Converge said it signed a binding term sheet with Keppel Midgard Holdings Pte. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore’s Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation, to grant the Philippine fiber internet provider an “indefeasible right of use” or IRU for one fiber pair on the main trunk of Bifrost Cable System.
Bifrost Cable System is a transpacific cable system connecting Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Guam, and the west coast of the United States, according to the official website of Submarine Cable Networks, a provider of consulting services on the planning, construction, operation, and marketing of submarine optical. The cable system is a project of Facebook, PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia International, and Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation.
Spanning 15,000 kilometers, the new transpacific cable system is expected to be completed in 2024.
Converge will be working with Keppel Midgard to develop a branch on Bifrost Cable System that will land in Davao.
Converge and Keppel expect that the additional branch “will significantly increase internet speeds and network diversity for businesses and consumers in the Philippines.”
“Our ongoing construction of our National backbone spanning the whole country will allow Converge to distribute this capacity from Davao to any point in the Philippines. We look forward to a continued strong collaboration with Keppel to bring our countries closer together and further enhance the connection of the region to the rest of the world,” Mr. Uy noted.
Converge ICT shares closed 0.53% higher at P19.10 apiece on Wednesday. — Arjay L. Balinbin