Stock rally, surging subscribers, and data center expansion push Dennis and Grace Uy up the billionaire ranks
It’s been a good year for broadband—and an even better one for the husband-wife team behind Converge ICT Solutions. With internet demand booming and share prices soaring, Dennis Anthony and Maria Grace Uy just saw their combined net worth hit $1.6 billion.
And they aren’t slowing down.
Their company is pouring billions into infrastructure as it races against larger rivals to wire up the rest of the Philippines.
From Pampanga to the Billionaire List
The Uys didn’t come from old-money Manila clans. Their empire began in Angeles City, Pampanga, where Dennis, a Chinese-Filipino immigrant, started out fixing VCRs and selling Betamax tapes. It’s a far cry from their current place at No. 16 on Forbes’ 2025 list of the Philippines’ richest.
Today, Dennis serves as CEO, while Grace is company president. Their partnership—at home and in business—has guided Converge through years of growth and, now, into the internet big leagues.
In just a year, their wealth jumped 74%. That rise tracks the performance of Converge shares, which surged nearly 66% on the Philippine Stock Exchange over the past 12 months.
One sentence: That kind of return makes old-school tycoons sit up.
And Converge’s growth story still has fuel in the tank.
Internet Demand Across the Islands
What’s pushing this boom? A mix of government policy, pandemic-driven demand, and plain old market hunger.
The Philippine government, under President Marcos Jr., has made improving digital access a cornerstone of its development agenda. That’s no easy feat in a country of over 7,000 islands.
Converge has tapped into that effort by extending fiber broadband to underserved provinces. Unlike old telcos with legacy copper lines, it focused early on a pure fiber model.
Samantha Gabrielle Patricio, analyst at First Metro Securities, puts it simply: “They’re growing fast—and it looks sustainable.”
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Quarterly subscriber growth target: 100,000
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Total subscribers today: 2.7 million
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Target by 2027: 4 million
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2024 Revenue: ₱41 billion
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2024 Net Profit: ₱11 billion
That puts Converge second only to PLDT, the longtime telecom giant with 3.5 million broadband users.
Capital Spending Goes Big
Converge isn’t pocketing all that growth—it’s spending aggressively.
Last year’s capital expenditure? ₱9 billion. This year? As much as ₱25 billion.
Much of that will go into expanding fiber cable coverage across the Visayas and Mindanao regions, where competitors remain thin on the ground.
One-sentence paragraph: But that’s not all.
Two new data centers are also on the way, aiming to serve corporate clients and power edge computing closer to regional cities.
Uy confirmed via email: “We’re not yet done making inroads in the connectivity space.”
His tone suggests they’ve only just started.
Eating Into the Competition
Converge is also taking advantage of weakness at SkyCable, the once-dominant cable TV and broadband provider owned by the Lopez family.
In 2024, it struck a deal to upgrade Sky’s aging network, and now expects up to 300,000 customers to migrate over in 2025.
This move doesn’t just bring in more users—it also weakens a long-standing rival. SkyCable’s slow pivot to fiber, combined with heavy debt, left it vulnerable to exactly this kind of encroachment.
A quick glance at the table below shows where Converge now stands:
| Company | Broadband Subs (2025) | Market Position |
|---|---|---|
| PLDT | 3.5 million | 1st |
| Converge ICT | 2.7 million | 2nd |
| Globe Telecom | 1.2 million (est.) | 3rd |
| SkyCable | 0.3 million (migrating) | 4th (declining) |
The race is clearly tightening.
Data Centers and Digital Backbone
Converge’s growth isn’t just about home broadband anymore.
The company is betting heavily on enterprise clients—banks, logistics firms, and offshore business process outsourcing operations—that need fast and stable digital infrastructure.
Their two upcoming data centers are expected to go live in late 2026. Unlike traditional setups concentrated in Metro Manila, these facilities will be more regional, closer to tech hubs like Davao and Iloilo.
This geographic move makes sense. It lowers latency for clients and taps into cities that are rapidly digitizing.
One sentence: And it could turn Converge into more than just an internet provider—it might become a digital backbone.
The Couple at the Helm
At the heart of all this is the Uy couple—equal parts ambition and pragmatism.
Dennis Anthony Uy is the tech visionary. He speaks in fiber-optic jargon and dreams of leapfrogging old systems.
Maria Grace Uy is the business brain. She oversees operations and investor relations, making sure the books balance and the plans scale.
Their dynamic has won over not just investors, but also employees. In interviews, former staff describe them as hands-on, frugal, and obsessed with speed.
They still maintain their headquarters in Pampanga, away from the high-rises of Makati.
“It keeps us grounded,” Grace once said in an older interview.
There’s a homespun quality to their success—even as they play in billion-peso territory.
What Could Trip Them Up?
Still, not everything is smooth sailing.
Infrastructure rollouts remain tricky in a country where permits, politics, and terrain can slow things down. Converge has faced criticism in some areas for patchy service or delays.
And with all that capital spending, debt levels will need watching. Markets have rewarded their expansion so far—but sentiment can shift quickly if returns lag.
Also, PLDT and Globe aren’t exactly sitting still. Globe in particular has been ramping up its own fiber footprint, while also investing in fintech and content bundling to keep users loyal.
But right now? Converge is outpacing them all in pure broadband growth.
And the Uys are enjoying their moment in the sun.
