MANILA - Broadband services in the country have improved after fiber broadband operator, Converge ICT Solutions Inc. (Converge), joined its network with the privately-owned City-to-City (C2C) subsea cable system, boosting Converge's international capacity by 1.3 TeraBits per second (Tbps). In a service update on Wednesday, Converge said the addition makes its network "fully redundant," guaranteeing network availability in the event of a submarine cable outage. "As submarine fiber cuts take weeks to be repaired, having a resilient network benefits business customers more than ever since this ensures continuity of operations with little to no opportunity loss," Converge said. The C2C cable system is part of the East Asia Crossing-C2C network, Asia's largest privately-owned submarine cable network that spans 17,000 kilometers (km) and connects the Philippines to major data hubs such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and China. In a press release, Converge chief operating officer (COO) Jesus Romero said existing customers would benefit from the network upgrade through an "even more consistent and reliable internet performance." "This additional capacity ensures sufficient and cost-effective connectivity for the fast-growing customer base of Converge, both residential and business," Romero said. Converge founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Dennis Uy said the company's efforts to expand its network capacity are part of its vision to "make the Philippines a digital hub in Asia." "We're strengthening our international capacity portfolio in anticipation of tremendous demand in data in the coming years within and outside of Asia. This is a step in future-proofing our international network, especially as we have started with our Wholesale business," Uy said. (PNA) }