Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions Inc. is positioning itself to capitalize on wholesale business growth opportunities as the implementation of the Konektadong Pinoy Law draws near.
Dennis Anthony Uy, the company’s CEO, said the company is ready to accommodate the demand that will come from new fiber broadband players.
‘The Konektadong Pinoy Law is helping deepen competition, which opens up opportunities for faster rollout to communities,’ he said in a media briefing. ‘However, infrastructure doesn’t come up overnight, which is why we are ready for Konektadong Pinoy’s infrastructure sharing provisions-both backbone and distribution networks.’
Uy said infrastructure sharing has proven beneficial in other countries by reducing capital expenditure requirements for new operators, creating what it described as a ‘win-win situation’ for the industry.
Given this, Uy said Converge is in ‘the best position’ to capitalize the infrastructure sharing provisions of the law.
He noted that several hundred municipalities still need fiber infrastructure, presenting significant expansion opportunities.
‘The wholesale business is expected to grow,’ Uy said. ‘We still have several hundred municipalities that need fiber infrastructure, so expansion is definitely in our plans. We will also be utilizing technology slicing in our approach.’
The optimistic outlook for the wholesale segment comes as Converge reported strong financial results in January to September.
The company posted net income after tax of P8.9 billion for the nine-month period, marking an 8-percent increase from P8.2 billion in the same period last year.
Consolidated revenues reached P33 billion, representing a 10 percent year-on-year growth from P29.9 billion. Its residential business grew by 9 percent to P27.7 billion, ending September with almost three million subscribers.
Enterprise revenues, which include the wholesale business, demonstrated robust growth at 16.2 percent, reaching P5.2 billion from P4.5 billion in the previous year.
The company is ‘sticking’ to its revised revenue growth target of between 10 percent and 12 percent. Originally, it anticipated revenues to grow between 12 percent and 14 percent by yearend.