CONVERGE ICT Solutions, Inc. will be doubling its data transmission capacity as it anticipates more demand on its fiber optic network.
The company announced in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday that it will double capacity to 800 gigabits per second (gbps) in response to cloud computing, big data, and virtual reality use.
These technological developments combined with remote storage and streaming technology use has led to massive demand on the company’s network and data centers, Converge Chief Executive Officer Dennis Anthony H. Uy said.
“We want to respond to the high-capacity needs of our network and customers, and to be able to accommodate any new-generation technologies they may have,” he said.
The upgrade would allow for more data center capacity, decreasing latency and improving high-speed data transfer that could support Internet of Things and smart cities technologies, Converge said.
“This latest technology allows us to use less hardware to efficiently deliver our services, limits the possibility of congestion whether in normal or outage situations, and reduces our energy consumption and cost,” Converge Chief Operating Officer Jesus C. Romero said.
Converge aims to link more than half of Philippine households to its pure fiber connectivity by 2025. The company’s fiber optic network has reached over seven million or 28% of total household as of March.
The company last month announced that it would start building a P1-billion data center in Cebu this year to serve the demand surge in Visayas and Mindanao. Its first data center was built in Metro Manila in 2016.
Converge’s attributable net income in the first quarter nearly tripled to P1.55 billion from P573.60 million in the same three months last year, mostly due to an increase in subscribers during the pandemic.
Converge shares closed 0.89% or 20 centavos higher at P22.75 each on Tuesday. — Jenina P. Ibañez