MANILA, Philippines – Listed fiber provider Converge ICT Solutions is doubling the speed of its base plan from 50 Megabits per second to 100 Mbps, without additional cost to subscribers.

The speed bump for the FiberX Plan worth P1,500 a month started on Wednesday, June 1. This means that the new base offering now stands at 100 Mbps, covering existing and potential customers.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, May 31, Converge chief operations officer Jesus Romero said more than 80% of the current total subscribers are getting the free speed upgrade.

“We’re just making sure that customers experience a service that they deserve. That’s number one. Number two, our network can handle it,” said Romero, citing Converge’s network speed of 800 Gigabits per second and its international submarine cables.

“By giving this to our customers, it’s not going to cost us more money and it’s not going to ruin the experience of other customers,” he added.

Essentially, Romero said Converge chief executive officer Dennis Anthony Uy wants “world-class” internet service for Filipinos. While the Philippines’ offerings have yet to rival those of Singapore or Hong Kong, Romero said “we’re getting close when you talk of Malaysia.”

“We’ll get there at some point…. We want Filipinos to experience better,” Romero said.

The speed bump will be applied automatically, according to Converge executives. They also reminded customers to use routers or mesh systems that can ensure the reliability of the connection.

Before the base plan reached 100 Mbps, Converge first offered 25 Mbps for P1,500. It gave a free boost to 35 Mbps when it hit 1 million subscribers in 2020, then to 50 Mbps in 2021.

In May 2021, Uy said the company could give a free speed upgrade even up to 100 Mbps if it would hit the target of 1.6 million to 1.7 million subscribers for that year.

Converge was able to hit that target, ending 2021 with close to 1.7 million subscribers. By the end of March 2022, the fiber provider had reached over 1.8 million users. – Rappler.com