MANILA - Globe Telecom’s top official hinted that he currently sees Converge ICT as a more significant competitor than DITO Telecommunity despite the latter having won the government contract as the third major telco.

During an online media briefing on Globe’s third-quarter performance, Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu was asked about which Dennis Uy was the “bigger competition” for the Ayala-led telco.

“Right now, I think Converge is doing a very good job in executing their fiber plan,” Cu answered.

• 'We have to see how they play the game': Globe plays down impact of DITO

Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy partly owns DITO, while Converge is partly owned and headed by Dennis Anthony Uy from Pampanga.

DITO recently announced that it now has 4 million subscribers after launching commercial operations last March.

Cu meanwhile had earlier been quoted saying “subscribers are not as meaningful as revenues” in reference to DITO’s accumulation of 2 million subscribers in August.

• Converge posts P5.2 billion net income on first 9 months of 2021

DITO CME Holdings, the parent firm of DITO Telecommunity, currently has a market cap of P88.8 billion, which is just a third of Converge’s P267.2 billion valuation despite the latter offering only fiber services with no cellular counterpart.

Cu however said Globe Telecom is also ramping up its fiber offerings.

“We will be coming up and getting more aggressive with Fiber because that is what the customers are looking for today,” Cu said.

Globe is also expecting mobile data demand to rise as the economy further reopens. Cu said mobile data usage took a backseat to home broadband usage as the pandemic kept students and workers at home.

“Mobile will ultimately recover and we have seen it in the last 2 months,” said Globe vice president Darius Jose Delgado.

The Ayala-led telco meanwhile said the mobile number portability (MNP) law has had a negligible effect on its subscriber base. Cu dismissed claims that PLDT was going to be a “net gainer” from the MNP service.

“We only have 2,000 people, I think, who are even interested in the service,” Cu said.

The company also doesn’t expect the possible approval of amendments to the Public Services Act (PSA) to affect its business and corporate setup.

Legislators are seeking to amend the PSA to remove telcos from the classification of public utilities, thus allowing 100 percent ownership of telecommunications businesses.

The measure is seen by legislators as a means to weaken the “duopoly” of Globe and PLDT in the telecoms industry.

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• Globe Telecom posts P18-billion net income for first 9 months of 2021

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