Leading fiber internet service provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is set to start the construction of a P1 billion data center in Cebu as it prepares to serve the surge in the data requirements in Visayas and Mindanao amid its aggressive expansion in central and southern Philippines.

Converge started the roll-out of its lightning-fast fiber broadband services in the Visayas with its grand launch in Cebu, initially serving Mandaue and Cebu City. In the coming weeks, Converge fiber broadband will be available to serve the broadband needs of consumers and enterprises in the cities of Talisay, Cordova, and Lapu-lapu.

Converge CEO and Co-Founder Dennis Anthony Uy said the rise of a new state-of-the-art data center in Cebu supports the recently unveiled strategic framework of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for the country’s full and inclusive participation in the global digital economy which it called CHIP – Connect, Harness, Innovate and Protect – that would also serve as the driver of the Philippines’ digital transformation.

“This data center is quite important especially for the Visayas as the demand for digital services and data requirements are going up. We just bought a property in Mandaue where the site will be built,” he said, adding that construction will likely start within the year.

He said the world-class data center will initially have 300 racks to cater to the demand and will be housed in a six-storey building that will also have a customer contact center which will employ thousands of Cebuanos and Visayans.

In addition to its core fixed broadband services, Converge also offers data center services to enterprise clients such as network management services, multi-homed network, disaster recovery services, network redundancy solutions, 24/7 monitoring, co-location and local connectivity.

As such it also carries numerous internet and enterprise application, including video, digital payment, online education, and telecommuting. These new services are based on AI, big data and cloud computing, all of which place higher requirements on data center interconnect (DCI).

After it built its first owned, NCR-based data center in 2016, Converge has been actively seeking to expand its data capacity. With its recent entry into Visayas and its commitment to serve more residential and enterprise customers in central Philippines, locating the second data center in Cebu is a strategic move.

Converge’s fiber backbone network will be rolled out through 15 more cities apart from Mandaue and Cebu City in the province, with its domestic submarine cables landing in four points in Cebu island, to ensure reliable and faster fiber broadband services throughout the province.

Converge has invested P6 billion for its domestic submarine cable network that connected the Visayas and Mindanao to its national fiber backbone and distribution network which already reached over 69,000 kilometers as of end-April.

“Our multi-billion peso investment in the Visayas region is a signal of our commitment to provide the best fiber broadband service to the market. For our residential customers, we are glad to be able to offer them fast and reliable broadband plans at affordable prices. For our enterprise customers, we are heavily investing in digital infrastructure to cater to your increasing data service requirements,” Mr. Uy pointed out.

In support of Converge’s debut in Visayas, the Cebu grand launch was attended by known leaders in Cebu’s local government and business circles including Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Steven Yu, and Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Felix Taguiam.