“We realize the opportunities presented by wholesale as a driver for our enterprise business and Converge will continue to capitalize on that. Converge SG stands ready to enable telecommunication firms, carriers, cable companies, and other businesses in delivering intra-Asia and Trans-Pacific connectivity capabilities for their operations,” said Converge CEO and Co-Founder Dennis Anthony Uy. 

Converge attained a Facilities-Based Operations (FBO) Licence in Singapore this year to deploy telecommunications infrastructure and provide connectivity services to wholesale and enterprise customers in the region.

Through its global subsidiary, Converge offers a variety of international connectivity services, such as Ethernet-International Private Line (E-IPL) service, Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) service, and submarine cable capacities, among others.

“Converge SG was built on the premise of serving the wholesale needs of international carriers, ISPs and telecommunication firms. We hope to finally capture various growth opportunities for the Wholesale business,” said Converge President and Co-Founder Grace Uy. 

The fiber broadband provider operates one of the largest international networks in the country with points of presence in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and the United States. 

It also maintains its network expansion as it participates in the Bifrost Cable System and the South-East Asia Hainan-Hong Kong Express Cable System (SEA-H2X), which are both set to be operational by next year. 

“With our investments in our international broadband network, we are ready to service and enable the growth of business clients in the region,” said Converge SEVP and COO Jesus Romero.

To this end, Converge recently onboarded technology sales strategist Victor Koh to lead Converge SG as General Manager and Head of International and Wholesale Sales. He will be responsible for managing its operations while driving revenue growth by extending connectivity services and fiber optic capacity to international markets. 

“Converge has a good opportunity to develop a strong presence in the international carrier space. I’m excited to fulfill my role and support Converge to become the partner of choice for regional international carriers especially as the market becomes more competitive in broadband services,” Koh said. 

Koh possesses over 30 years of expertise in the information technology and telecommunications industry, with a proven track record in developing strategies in penetrating new markets.

To know more about Converge, visit www.convergeict.com.

According to the latest data from Netflix, Converge delivered the best speeds on video streaming compared with local telcos brandishing its average of 3.4 Mbps from January to June this year.

“It is our pride to have been consistently recognized for the quality of our service to customers. Rest assured that they can rely on us for their daily entertainment needs as we continue to give them only the best possible online experience,” said Converge CEO and co-founder Dennis Anthony Uy.

The Netflix ISP Speed Index measures the prime-time Netflix performance of internet service providers, assessing which network offers the best picture quality, start times, and fewer interruptions to Netflix users. 

“Our network was designed to deliver high-speed connectivity while keeping latency and jitter at a minimum. Our dominance in the Netflix Speed leaderboard is just a reflection of our commitment to give more value to our customers through reliable, top-notch internet services,” said Converge SEVP and COO Jesus Romero. 

Netflix also ranked Converge as the top internet provider last year for having the fastest internet speeds based on its monthly speed ratings, garnering a full-year average of 3.42 Mbps. 

Recently, a study from independent insights and data company OpenSignal identified Converge as the country’s fastest fixed broadband operator, with unmatched download and upload speeds at 52.8 Mbps and 35.9 Mbps, respectively. 

The fiber broadband and technology provider offers one of the country’s most affordable and fastest internet solutions. From a base plan of P1,500 monthly, customers will get up to 200 Mbps of connectivity with 30 percent minimum speed at 80 percent service reliability.

GADC, which holds the master franchise of McDonald’s in the Philippines, has been a Converge customer since 2015 starting with McDonald’s Clark Gate in Clark Freeport, Pampanga. At present, Converge powers nearly 40% of the over 700 McDonald’s restaurants across the country.

“Converge provides a wide range of options that allows us to determine the most optimal connection at each Converge-enabled restaurant. This in turn provides a better experience for both our customers and employees,” shares McDonald’s Philippines President and CEO, Kenneth Yang.

Converge has been an integral partner of McDonald’s Philippines’ in its digital transformation journey by providing its offices and branches network connectivity necessary to deliver an omni-channel, elevated customer experience through initiatives like NXTGEN. NXTGEN refers to McDonald’s stores that feature split counters, digital menu boards, self-order kiosks, and are enabled to accept a wide range of digital payment options. Today, close to 60% of McDonald’s stores are NXTGEN.

“Our continued partnership with McDonald’s Philippines exemplifies our mission with Philippine businesses: to digitally transform their operations to elevate their competitive edge and customer service as they expand their businesses. We are glad to walk hand-in-hand with McDonald’s Philippines in their digital transformation journey and cement their reputation as a technology-enabled fast food giant,” said Converge CEO and Co-Founder Dennis Anthony Uy.

High bandwidth and redundancy have been critical to McDonald’s Philippines’ success. The company’s store operations rely on consistent, low-latency, high-speed connectivity to support both its front- and back-of-house ecosystems. Converge has been a key enabler in each branch’s efficiency in bringing forth the quick service restaurant chain’s trademark seamless customer experience through digital ordering, cashless payment, and time-sensitive food preparation and delivery.

Both companies have been bullish about their growth, with McDonald’s set to open at least 50 stores this year, or one store per week. Alongside its growth is an even stronger commitment to be better for its stakeholders and the community. The company is accelerating its efforts on environmental sustainability with its Green & Good stores.

“Every McDonald’s Green and Good store is built using green building solutions like light cage steel frames, eco-bricks, and recyclable wood. These stores also use solar energy to power its operations and is equipped with other solutions to conserve energy and water. One of our flagship Green and Good stores in Nuvali is powered by Converge, and we hope that these stores will be the blueprint for a more carbon footprint-less future,” shares Margot Torres, McDonald’s Philippines Managing Director.

“We are one with McDonald’s Philippines in promoting sustainable practices in business. For us at Converge, sustainability begins at the core as our main business – fiber optic connectivity – is green by design as this technology consumes less energy. We are also reducing our carbon footprint by switching our headquarters and data centers to renewable energy, and we are looking to switch more sites to clean energy,” said Converge President and Co-Founder Maria Grace Y. Uy.

As of April 2023, Converge continues to aggressively expand its network, extending its pure fiber footprint to more than 646,000 kilometers and deploying over eight million ports across the country, reaching over 15.9 million homes, or a total of 60% of Filipino households, making it the Philippines’ most expansive fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network. With such expansion, Converge will soon be fiber-powering more McDonald’s branches in the country.

“We’re honored to be a strategic partner of McDonald’s Philippines’ when it comes to connectivity. As we continue to expand all over the country, more of their branches will be fiber-powered by us. We hope that once customers experience the convenient and seamless service McDonald’s provides through the high-speed connectivity Converge brings to a store, they will truly be able to say Love Ko ‘To!” said Converge Chief Operations Officer Jesus C. Romero.

Converge was hailed as the Best Internet Service Provider in the Philippines by Global Business Outlook (GBO), a UK-based publication dedicated to covering and rewarding excellence in businesses within vital industry sectors such as technology, banking and finance, real estate, and the economy around the world.

FiberX Time of Day, the company’s unique and first-in-the-market connectivity product that allows subscribers to get faster internet speeds during their chosen pre-set time of the day, was named the Most Customer-Centric Product in the Philippines.

“We are honored to receive these awards from Global Business Outlook. It’s heartening to know that our efforts to continually enhance and expand our network infrastructure and product line are getting recognized by international industry experts,” Converge Chief Operations Officer Jesus C. Romero said. “These awards reflect our enduring commitment to fiber powering the whole Philippines and providing a premium connectivity experience to every Filipino through world-class products and services.”

Winners were evaluated and chosen by a global industry expert panel along with the GBO editorial team based on their annual performance on innovations, reliability, cost efficiency, deployment of wider fiber network coverage, quality of service, tariff plans, professional field service and customer service, upstream capacity, and speed results in subscriber and business growth.

Converge had an impressive 2022, was recognized as the Top-Rated Fixed Network in the Philippines by global network intelligence and connectivity insights leader Ookla®, and was awarded the Best Operator in an Emerging Market at the 2022 World Communications Awards.

As of January 2023, Converge has already deployed more than two million fiber ports in the country, extended its fiber footprint to more than 613,000 kilometers, and expanded its nationwide network reach to over 14.3 million homes, making it the largest fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network in the Philippines.

OTN is a Layer 1 technology that provides a secure, clear channel, high bandwidth, reliable, and low latency network service running over Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM). Converge ICT Solutions’ DWDM network is the youngest and most modern network in the country. Converge is the first Philippine operator to run 800G waves on its DWDM network.

OTN is perfect for ultra-low latency and high bandwidth requirements such as financial services and service provider backbones. It provides the following benefits:

• Security – Layer 1 is inherently more secure than a shared Layer 2 or Layer 3 network
• Scalability – Currently supports high-bandwidth up to 400G
• Reliability – Incorporates resiliency capabilities such as Automatically Switched Optical Network (ASON)
• Flexibility – Layer 1 services can carry different types of traffic easily being a transparent service  

Converge ICT Solutions has, for several years, been leveraging OTN technology in its backbone and access transmission network, with sophisticated protection mechanisms such as the Automatically Switched Optical Network (ASON), which allows policy-driven control of an optical network to ensure continuity of its service. With the higher capacity its OTN network now can carry, Converge ICT extends and offers the same transport technology for its Enterprise and Wholesale point-to-point connectivity requirements up to 400G.

By offering OTN support to its customers, Converge will provide a fast, stable, and secure way for companies to send different traffic types, including IP, Ethernet, storage, digital video, and SDH, over its high-speed, low latency backbone network. This service maximizes the use of Converge’s pure end-to-end fiber connectivity.

“It’s a very high-performance service,” said Jesus C. Romero, Converge’s Chief Operations Officer. “Our goal at Converge has always been to come up with the best products for our enterprise and wholesale clients. This OTN service is a first in the country, and this will help businesses meet the increasingly demanding requirements of critical applications driving their businesses.”

Romero adds, “The OTN service will give our enterprise and wholesale customers a powerful tool to ensure that their most demanding business applications will continue to drive company growth.”

Converge supports OTN with its high-speed domestic and international transport services. To learn more about OTN, visit www.convergeict.com/enterprise/otn/