This milestone positions the Philippines as a more significant player in the global digital infrastructure, with the new cable supporting multi-terabit bandwidth for hyperscalers, data centres, enterprise clients, and a range of digital services.
The Bifrost cable system is expected to strengthen the Philippines’ role as a critical international gateway, offering scalable connectivity to North America and regional hubs. It promises to deliver low-latency links essential for fintech, media, gaming, cloud services, artificial intelligence applications, and global content delivery. Additionally, the cable’s diversified and disaster-resilient routing capabilities are set to enhance the country’s digital resilience.
Converge ICT’s CEO and co-founder, Dennis Anthony Uy, expressed confidence that the investment in Bifrost is already yielding positive results. He noted that since announcing the project, there has been overwhelming demand from carriers and internet service providers eager to purchase capacity, indicating strong market interest and potential growth.
The Bifrost cable, stretching nearly 20,000km and under construction since 2021, is a collaborative project backed by industry giants including Telin, Keppel Midgard Holdings (KMH), Meta, and Amazon. Its design capacity is 10.4 terabits per second, linking the United States and Mexico with Singapore through intermediate landing points in Guam, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Converge ICT joined the project in 2021 after acquiring an indefinite rights of use (IRU) from KMH for one fibre pair on the system. The company and KMH also agreed to jointly develop a branch cable connecting Davao, with Converge serving as the local landing partner. The submarine line terminal equipment (SLTE) for Converge’s Davao landing station was supplied by optical networking vendor Infinera under a contract signed in October 2024.
Despite some delays, the Bifrost system is now slated to be operational in the third quarter of this year, providing a significant boost to the Philippines’ international connectivity and supporting the country’s digital growth ambitions.
