Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions Inc. expects to sustain this growth in the third quarter given the huge demand for fixed broadband in the market.
“We continue to see demand. The fiber penetration of the country continues to be extremely low, which is less than of 20 percent as compared to Vietnam, Malaysia, with 40 to 50 percent (market share) on fiber. In the third quarter, we can see a strong pick up in the market compared in the second quarter,” Vukovich said.
In the second quarter, Converge captured 47 percent market share in the fixed broadband net adds among the three largest broadband operators in the Philippines, increasing its fixed broadband market share from 21 percent in June 2020 to 29 percent in June 2021.
“Reflecting the high demand for fixed broadband connectivity services in the Philippines, we estimate that 95 percent of our new subscribers in 2Q2021 (second quarter) were first time fixed broadband users,” Converge said.
The company yesterday said its net income after tax more than doubled to P3.3 billion in the first half this year driven by its continued strong subscriber take-up.
Residential subscribers jumped 85 percent to 1.4 million in the second quarter this year compared to a year ago.
With this, the company’s consolidated revenues surged 81.5 percent to P11.8 billion in the first semester from P6.5 billion in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, Globe Telecom Inc. through a partnership with overseas telco providers has expanded its fifth generation (5G) roaming service to five more countries.
Filipinos get access to 5G roaming services when they travel abroad, as Globe adds the following countries to its still-growing list of locations: Japan through Softbank, Turkey through Turk Telecom, and Switzerland’s Swisscom.
O2 Czech Republic, the largest operator in the Czech market, is set to join Globe’s roster of overseas telco partners by August 20. Globe has also partnered with Israel’s Pelephone so the latter’s subscribers can access 5G when they visit the Philippines. – Myla Iglesias
