World-class fixed broadband service has always been the country's primary concern when it comes to connectivity. This is what Converge CEO and Founder Dennis Anthony Uy's been aiming to reach and connect for the rest of the underserved, unserved areas all over the country.
The national fiber backbone is near completion as it installs 1,800 kilometers of submarine sea cables connecting Visayas and Mindanao this March. "By the end of April, we would have succeeded Phase 1 of the milestone, which is the Visayas and Mindanao connection. Phase 2 will start in July and might finish by October. Phase 1 is already running, and we are currently operating already in Cebu," he said to us during our exclusive virtual interview meeting.
Just recently, Converge announced that it is investing $100 million into the Bifrost Cable System in a partnership with Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation's (Keppel T&T) wholly-owned subsidiary, Keppel Midgard Holdings Pte. Ltd. (KMH).
"We are so lucky because the Philippines is in the middle of Asia. Bifrost is the newest cable in the market right now, and we expect it to be completed by 2024. When you bring this superhighway and put the country in the middle, it becomes noticeable in the experience of digital end-users because it quickly expands the quality of service. This is the future down the road,” Uy explained.
“In terms of this kind of technology, with our deeper understanding of the market and careful planning, we're already looking at meeting the future demands of our customers. We're thinking of this capacity in terms of how it can benefit our Filipino users in the future, especially the enterprise and digital consumers," he added.
The Bifrost Cable System is the world's first subsea cable system that directly connects Singapore to the west coast of North America via Indonesia through the Java Sea and the Celebes Sea. It will connect Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Guam, and the west coast of North America. KMH is jointly building the new Trans-Pacific cable system with a subsidiary of Facebook Inc. and PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin).
"This is an important milestone not just for Converge but also for the Philippines as we expect to experience faster internet speeds and greater resiliency within our fast-growing fiber network with the completion of this project," he noted.
Why fiber technology? What is the advantage of wired vs. wireless?
"Fiber optic internet is the faster, more reliable, and more advanced solution to data transfer than the antiquated copper-based digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable internet.
In terms of wired technology, copper-based DSL is bulkier and susceptible to interference so it is no longer able to address the high speed internet needs today.
Copper is a conductant and vulnerable to interruptions like rain, radio frequencies etc. which makes the connection slow or intermittent. In fact, sometimes when it rains, the DSL broadband goes on and off like Christmas lights.
As a rule also, the more components are added to a system, the more points of failure. With copper you need regenerators every two (2) kilometers to amplify the signal because for every 10 kilometers, there are losses. Since there are more electrical components, there are more points for failure and speed is limited.
The fiber technology is completely different. Fiber is non-conductant (unlike copper), making it resistant to fire, interference, rain, lightning or radio signals. Fiber uses light, so it can transmit more bits of data per second and offer higher bandwidth.
Fiber can run at the speed of light from 80 to 100 kilometers between point A to point B with no need to put active components in between. This makes it faster and more reliable than DSL.
Wireless, on the other hand, has limitations in terms of capacity and quality depending on the environment. Imagine a swimming pool that can fit up to 50 people, that is the maximum capacity. If you put 100 people in that same pool you will not be able to move anymore. This is the limitation of wireless, once it is oversubscribed, it becomes congested and the experience becomes slow. Unlike fiber which is delivered via dedicated ports to each user, making it more stable and can carry more capacity.”
Current initiatives for Enterprise and Residential customers
"We design our product offerings based on the need and feedback of our customers, and are able to offer higher speed at the best value in the market today. We also adjust and innovate as seen in the new products we launched for Enterprise, SMEs and Consumer segments.
For residential customers, we have recently launched, FiberX Time of Day (TOD), an innovative and efficient product that matches internet speeds with consumers’ usage hours. To simply put, TOD matches the internet speeds with consumers' usage hours where they can maximize and boost their speeds.
For example, if you need more capacity in the daytime because of work and school for the children, we can double the speeds during the day. You don't need to upgrade your plans because double the speeds means double the cost.
A similar product offering is available to our SME customers through Converge FlexiBIZ. For Enterprise customers, we have new products as well that promise higher connectivity for subscribers while still ensuring affordability. These are Converge FASTER, Converge Time of Day, Converge Upload, and Converge Connect.
As you can see, we are always brainstorming and innovating to create new products that address the current needs of our customers. We will continue to look for ways to make their internet experience better at the best value."
What other technologies/innovations have you introduced to the local telco industry?
"We are more concentrated on technological innovation. We’re the first to bring in microtrenching technology in the Philippines. This innovative utility installation is being used by the world’s biggest companies including Google as it allows quick installation with very minimal disruption to the community and vehicular traffic.
We were the first to use 400GBPS waves on our DWDM backbone giving is four (4) times more capacity than the traditional 100GBPS technology.
After introducing Time of Day which is a product innovation, we are looking into content to bundle with our broadband packages. In the next few months, we will introduce more innovative value-added products for our fixed broadband customers."
What makes Converge different from competitors?
"I would like to begin by underscoring our main differentiating point: Converge is a pure end-to-end high-speed fiber internet service provider. Unlike our competitors, we are solely focused on providing fiber connection across the country.
Our growth is driven by the blue ocean market of underserved customers. As of FY2020, fiber penetration was no more than 10% with a significant whitespace for multiple players to thrive. Filipinos are hungry for high-speed, reliable internet and this is evident because 90% of our new subscribers are first-time fiber broadband users.
Second, rollout strategy is executed by our experienced construction management company, MetroWorks ICT Construction Inc.. Through MetroWorks, we retain full visibility over our end-to-end network design and rollout functions that allow us to anticipate the needs of our customers, and tailor and execute our network rollout plans.
We are a young organization with a very capable management team that has technological know-how which allows us to address operational concerns quickly and innovate as needed.
Lastly, we design our product offerings based on the needs and feedback of our customers, and are able to offer higher speed at the best value in the market today. We also adjust and innovate as seen in the new products we launched for Enterprise, SMEs and Consumer segments.
Ever since when I started this company, I was technology-driven looking at the future. Even right now, I am already thinking about the technological needs of customers eight years from now."
What are the latest numbers of your subscribers?
"We closed last year 2020 with more than a million subscribers and we are looking at this year to hit close to 1.6 million to 1.7 million subscribers. If the trend continues, we are looking at very promising growth. Plus, we expect to commercially launch in the Visayas and Mindanao in the second half of the year. So it’s really a promising year for us."
What are your initiatives for nation-building/CSR?
“Even before, we have been active in initiatives to bridge the digital divide, especially in education. We have donated a number of computers and tablets. For my alma mater, Holy Angels University, we provided them with the latest broadband connectivity. In terms of support to our people during disasters, we were very active in helping the Batangas local government to provide relief to affected families during the Taal volcano eruption early last year. We are doing a lot, especially during this pandemic. We have provided learning tools for the Aeta community pre-school learners supported by the Clark Development Corporation and OB Montessori. Just recently, we signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Education to provide free connectivity to public school students who are accessing the learning portals of the DepEd. We are doing this in partnership with the local governments. We have done it in San Juan City and Imus. We will soon implement this program with other cities in Metro Manila and the rest of the country. It has always been a part of me to help the country, and in my heart, to help other people. I’ve always believed that whatever you have, you need to share it with others."
Tell us about the DepEd partnership? Is this something you are going to expand?
"I came from a public school, and I have seen how our education system is far behind compared to other countries. It's because we lack the infrastructure. We have more than 20 million public school students, and this is one of the most significant government budget spending for every year. In Singapore, they have the proper digital infrastructure for their elementary schools and even in secondary institutions.
I'm glad that DepEd came out with its digital DepEd Commons platform. They created a platform where they have a data center with innovation. But the problem is, while they have content, they don't have the reliable digital highway to bring this content to the end-users who are the public school students.
In San Juan City, we were able to put individual fiber connection to close to 6,000 homes, benefitting nearly 13,000 students to be able to connect them to the DepEd platform for free. But this connectivity won’t allow them free access to Netflix, Facebook, and other social media or gaming apps, it will be free just only 24/7 for education. So, this is really the DepEd and the LGU giving these kids access 24/7 to remote education that we supported. We don't charge them a monthly subscription. This is free for public school students. We hope to duplicate this innovation nationwide. This is our advocacy. This is our priority. This is our long-term plan."
How will Converge help Filipinos adapt to the new normal? And how Filipinos benefit from Converge?
"We are not just after the profit of the business. From the very start, we are about how and what we can do to contribute to the country. This is a part of my passion - sharing my knowledge, our technology. And every day, you can see how we help the government with its online solutions, the small businesses to reach their markets, and those in their homes conducting meetings or classes. It gives us this fulfillment to see them become successful because of our fiber connectivity. At the end of the day, you cannot say how much you spent in your network because these are all priceless achievements for us.”
Customer-centric approach: Why do you think it's essential for a leader to be in social media?
"Because of the digital world, if you're not in with the social media network, you cannot get in touch and engage with the consumer. It would help if you were informed that way. This is part of our communications to reach the public. It's very important at this day and age.
If you're not in the social media network nowadays, you cannot get in touch.
That is why we have a digital transformation in terms of our network regarding customer experience. We have multi-channel platforms in place. We have tripled our customer service personnel to monitor the sentiments of our customers and engage with them. We have the right team and people looking into these support channels, in terms of customer service and our products."
Vision for Converge
"Our long-term plan aspiration is we want to bring world class technology to the country to benefit the majority of our people. By bridging the digital divide, enormous opportunities await our country and the Filipino people. That is very important to us."
In fact, you can connect with me on LinkedIn (@DennisUyFiberMaster) or follow him on Facebook (@DennisUyFiberMaster) and Twitter (@TheFiberMaster).