Converge lays out P7B in own-use data centers

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. intends to spend P6 billion to P7 billion yearly to build up its data center capacity, amid the growing need for hubs that store critical information technology servers and networks.

Dennis Anthony Uy, CEO and co-founder of the fiber broadband service company, said in a recent interview in Manila that more data hubs will be needed in the future amid increasing digitalization of processes among organizations.

This amount represents about half of the planned capital expenditure (capex) of Converge for next year, which Uy said ranges within P10 billion to P15 billion.

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“[With] technology companies, capex never stops. We need to spend a lot to be able to innovate,” he said.

Recently, the internet service provider started building a 10-megawatt (MW) data center in Pampanga and another 3-MW hub in Metro Manila. These facilities are expected to be completed by next year.

Converge, which has about 10 MW in existing data center capacity, is working with American tech giant Super Micro Computer Inc. for the construction of such facilities.

The listed company will be installing Supermicro’s liquid cooling solution in its servers to reduce energy consumption by up to 40 percent. This will not only result in less environmental impact, but will also cut operational expenses.

Subsea cables

While Converge has been scaling up data center capacity, Uy said it was all for internal requirements only and the company does not intend to provide data center services to other organizations.

“We are not a real estate company. We are [a] technology [firm],” he said.

Along with this, Converge is on track to activate the South-East Asia Hainan-Hong Kong Express (SEA-H2X) fiber cable system next year.

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The 5,000-kilometer (km) submarine cable project, which has a design capacity of 160 terabits per second (Tbps), traverses six markets including Hong Kong, China, Thailand, East Malaysia and Singapore.

Apart from SEA-H2X, Converge is also building the 15,000-km BiFrost Cable System, which will connect the Philippines to Singapore, Indonesia, Guam and the west coast of North America.

This project, the capacity of which is up to 15 Tbps, is targeted to be finished by next year.

For this year, Converge has earmarked P12 billion to P14 billion for subsea cable projects and other spending.