But Sky brand to be retained

MANILA - Sky Broadband subscribers will migrated to Converge FiberX next year, according to Converge ICT Solutions Founder and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Anthony Uy.

The company said it hopes to accomplish this by the end of 2025. Uy admitted it is a bit challenging to migrate about 300,000 Sky subscribers nationwide, but the company has already started this. Provincial areas are likely to be completed first due to the smaller size. Converge also plans to hire experts on how the migration can be done smoothly.

“We are migrating the old cable to fiber. Nag-start na sa Quezon City. Challenging syempre, but we need to put some focus and hopefully another 6-7 months, marami na ma-transfer," Uy said.

Uy clarified the Sky brand will remain as is and that Sky will operate independently from Converge. Sky will only be using the fiber infrastructure of Converge and will be paying Converge a fee.

The Converge chief also added that the company has a capacity for 9 million subscribers, but only about 3 million are being utilized. So it is better to let other players use their fiber network. He added this would help Converge pay operating and maintenance costs for the fiber network, while Sky upgrades its business at the same time.

“Open the competition is the best. Kung sino mas magaling mag serve. Yan kailangan natin. Wala na traditional na duopoly, monopoly. Di na pupwede. Kawawa ang consumer,” he said.

When asked if Converge will buy Sky, Uy said that is not yet being discussed.

The Sky-Converge deal was announced last July where Sky can utilize Converge’s fiber infrastructure without having to spend a huge capital to develop its own network. Converge has also said it’s a revenue boost for them as they can monetize its excess network capacity.