As telecom competition has now shifted to home broadband, another challenger from a Japanese backed telco is expected to roll out fiber-to-home broadband services this year to compete in this huge untapped market.
Broadband services provider Infinivan Inc., which is 40 percent Japanese- owned has been operating for over five years offering fiber internet services to business enterprises.
It will also penetrate the residential market, said Edgardo Cabarios, National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) deputy commissioner.
Cabarios said the company has been building its fiber network nationwide, a domestic submarine cable, connecting Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in preparation for the rollout of fiber-to-home services.
A month after Infinivan secured its 25-year congressional franchise in August 2016, it applied for a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) to construct and operate broadband services nationwide at the NTC.
The company secured its NTC permit in 2017 and since then, it continues its network infrastructure build-out.
Infinivan has applied for a CPCN to construct, install, operate and maintain national and international broadband and data services in all cities and municipalities in Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol Region, National Capital Region as well as in La Trinidad, Benguet and Baguio City, and to charge rates with the issuance of a provisional authority.
This year, Cabarios said, telcos are expected to aggressively build more fiber network and expand their capacity due to the high demand for fiber internet which provides faster speed and more reliable connection than mobile broadband.
At present, there are more players competing in the fiber home broadband market —PLDT Inc., Globe Telecom Inc., Converge ICT Solutions Inc., SkyCable and s Infinivan.
Infinivan offers fiber internet for business enterprises at 30 megabits per second (Mbps), 40 Mbps and 100 Mbps for P21,600, P34,800 and P84,270 per month, respectively. It has no data cap and offers guaranteed speed and 24/7 customer service.
Aside from fiber internet services, the company also offers managed software defined wide area network, international private leased circuit, data services, internet exchange carrier, cloud services, cybersecurity and multi-dwelling unit internet service provider.
Cabarios said earlier the country’s home broadband penetration is less than 50 percent and still has huge potential for growth especially in the unserved and underserved areas in the provinces.
