Converge dipping into sachet-sized fiber

Broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has its eyes set on penetrating another low-cost segment, known as piso WiFi, to maximize its fiber lines and widen its national coverage.

- By ELIJAH FELICE ROSALES

Converge CEO and co-founder Dennis Anthony Uy is coming up with a product that would cater to low-income consumers who pay for their internet connection by the hour.

Initial studies by Converge showed that about 30 percent of internet users in the Philippines rely on sachet-sized broadband to connect to the web, compelling Uy to scan the market for possible opportunities, similar to how it developed its budget options Surf2Sawa and BIDA Fiber.

"That [piso WiFi] is another segment of the market, and that is big. We think it easily corners 30 percent of the entire market, so we need to go and touch that ground to understand it," Uy said in an interview with The STAR.

In urban poor areas, Uy noticed that almost all access the internet through prepaid. This is where the business of piso WiFi thrives the most, giving Filipinos pay-per-use connectivity for P1 for 10 minutes, P5 for an hour, P10 for two hours and P20 for five hours.