The country’s self-styled fiber leader just admitted, quietly, that fiber has limits: Converge is using a Starlink satellite dish to connect an Aeta school in Zambales where no cable will go anytime soon.
Key Takeaways
- Converge installed a Starlink Mini at the ADBSA Aeta Integrated School in Zambales, free for one year.
- The school serves more than 300 elementary and high school students.
- The kit comes with a 50GB monthly data cap, according to Converge.
- Converge and rider group RAMTAT Ph also brought tablets to two mountain schools in Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya.
Converge ICT Solutions says it set up the satellite link through Probus Ventures Inc. (PVI), its managed service partner in Zambales.
The school, run with the Asian Development Bank Spouses’ Association (ADBSA), sits at the end of unpaved roads with no public transport.
School head Romualdo Montefalcon Cañeda told Converge that without the school, students would have to walk five kilometers to reach the nearest alternative.
Converge did not say how much the hardware, installation, and year of service cost the company.
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Why a fiber company is betting on Starlink
Converge built its name on fiber. The company says it now runs more than 960,000 kilometers of fiber optic assets nationwide.
But cable needs roads, poles, and paying subscribers nearby. A school in Aeta country has none of those in quantity, which is why Converge reached for a dish instead.
This is no accident. Converge became an authorized Starlink reseller in March 2025 through its subsidiary Converge Singapore, and CEO Dennis Anthony Uy said he expected to sell $3 million to $4 million (about ₱175 million to ₱235 million) worth of kits, according to the Daily Tribune.
The ties go back further. Converge leased fiber lines and ground equipment to SpaceX in 2022, before Starlink formally launched in the Philippines in 2023, as reported by Unbox PH.
In this school project, Converge branded the hardware as its own “Converge Starlink kit.”
The connectivity gap Converge is stepping into
The government has been racing to wire every public school. In his 2025 State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said almost 12,000 public schools had no internet, according to GMA News.
By July 2026, DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said around 96% of public schools had free Wi-Fi, with full coverage targeted within weeks, DZRH reported.
The last few percent are the hardest. These are schools in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, or GIDA, where satellite is often the only practical option.
Starlink is not cheap for Filipinos to buy on their own. The Starlink Mini kit retails for ₱33,500 in the Philippines, according to YugaTech, before any monthly plan.
What the Starlink Mini does for the school
The Starlink Mini is a laptop-sized dish with a built-in Wi-Fi router. It talks to low Earth orbit satellites, so it needs only a clear view of the sky and power.
Converge says teachers will use it to pull lesson materials, and students will get access to online learning.
The 50GB monthly cap is the catch. Split across 300-plus students, that works out to under 170MB each per month, roughly one hour of standard-definition video.
In practice, the link will likely serve teachers first, with student use rationed.
Tablets on motorbikes in Nueva Vizcaya
Converge also worked with RAMTAT Ph, a club of adventure motorbike riders, on a second drive in Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya.
Eleven riders carried tablets, school supplies, and snacks to Ansipsip Elementary School, about 90 minutes from the municipal hall, then rode another hour to Domolpos Elementary School.
Barangay Ansipsip chief Angel Caruncon said many pupils board at the school dormitory and go home only about once a month because of the terrain.
Converge did not disclose how many tablets it delivered, or whether either Kayapa school has internet to go with them.
In Samar, the company says it also funded ceiling repairs at San Isidro National High School after years of typhoon damage. No amount was given.
What still has to be proven
The figures and outcomes here come from Converge and have not been independently verified.
The bigger question is year two. The free service runs for one year, and Converge has not said who pays for the subscription after that, or whether the school will be moved to a government program.
PVI says it plans to help renovate and repaint classrooms at the ADBSA school next school year. That is a pledge, not a contract.
Converge’s fiber network can’t reach every Aeta classroom. Whether its Starlink partnership becomes a lasting fix, or a one-year gift, is what Filipinos should watch next.
FAQ
Which schools did Converge connect with Starlink? Converge says it connected the ADBSA Aeta Integrated School in Zambales, which serves more than 300 students, using a Starlink Mini with 50GB of data a month for one year.
Is Converge a Starlink reseller? Yes. Converge became an authorized Starlink reseller in the Philippines in March 2025 through its subsidiary Converge Singapore.
How much is Starlink Mini in the Philippines? The Starlink Mini kit retails for ₱33,500 in the Philippines, according to YugaTech. Monthly plans are charged separately. The Aeta school pays nothing for the first year.
What is still unknown? Converge has not disclosed the cost of the donation, how many tablets went to Nueva Vizcaya, or what happens to the school’s internet after the free year ends.
Sources
Marcos vows internet for all public schools by end of 2025 (GMA News)
Converge, Starlink deal to expand satellite internet reach (Daily Tribune)
Finally: Converge Forges Partnership with Starlink (Unbox PH)
