Converge ICT earmarks US$1.8bn for Internet infrastructure
Converge ICT Solutions, a Philippine Internet service provider, announced that it will invest at least $1.8 billion for a national internet backbone with several local and foreign companies. Under its strategic partnership deals with Korea Telecoms, LSI-Fibernet Konstruk Corp., and TE Connectivity Subcom, Converge will develop over 2,000 kilometers of fiber-optic cables throughout Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. Converge ICT Chief Executive Officer Dennis Anthony H. Uy said the total investment over five years will be $1.8 billion, and financing will by equity and bank loans. Uy noted his group’s expertise and its partners’ industry credentials and financial muscle which will help in building an Internet that he deemed as a “catalyst for social and economic progress.” The national broadband highway, Uy said, will be commercially available by 2021. The company is targeting to reach seven million subscribers in five years.
