Converge to pilot prepaid home broadband that could cost around PHP 500 a month

Converge plans to test a low-cost prepaid home broadband offering aimed at households that largely rely on mobile data.

Photo from Converge ICT

Converge eyes PHP 500 prepaid home broadband

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is preparing to pilot a low-cost prepaid home broadband offering as it looks to reach price-sensitive households in an increasingly saturated fiber market.

According to an Inquirer.net article, Converge cofounder and CEO Dennis Anthony Uy said the product could be commercially launched as early as the first quarter of 2027. It targets millions of Filipino households that are not connected to fixed broadband and largely depend on mobile data.

Uy said capturing the rest of the market means pricing home internet competitively with prepaid mobile data, especially for consumers who cannot afford regular monthly broadband plans.

Our consumers are really in a sachet market, Uy said in a chance interview with reporters. They want to do it prepaid style.

Uy said Converge is in the research and development stage, with pilot testing planned for the fourth quarter, particularly in third- and fourth-class towns in Mindanao.

He said the technology would involve bringing fiber infrastructure "to the edge," or closer to residential areas, making home connections easier and cheaper to deploy. Other telcos already use similar technology, particularly for mobile services, but Uy said Converge intends to adapt it for home broadband.

Converge currently offers prepaid fiber broadband starting at PHP 700 a month for speeds of up to 50 megabits per second.

Uy said the new product could cut the monthly cost to around PHP 500.

To keep upfront costs manageable, the company is also considering letting customers use the needed equipment through a refundable deposit, provided the device is returned when the service is discontinued.

Converge had 3.09 million subscribers as of end-June, and its fiber network spanned 960,000 kilometers as of May.

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Via: Inquirer.net