Velox Networks enters Philippines telecom market

Singapore-based cloud telephony provider Velox Networks has expanded into the Philippines, betting that recent telecom reforms and a broader push to modernize aging communications infrastructure will create room for enterprise-grade voice services in the country.

The company said the Philippines is now its third Southeast Asian market after Singapore and Malaysia.

The expansion comes as the Philippines implements the Konektadong Pinoy Act, or Republic Act No. 12234, which took effect after becoming law in August 2025 and sets an open-access, technology-neutral framework for data transmission, while promoting infrastructure sharing and competition. The law also defines Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, as part of data transmission services, separate from basic telephone service.

Velox said the new framework lowers long-standing barriers to entry in a sector historically dominated by a small number of incumbent players.

For the company, the timing also aligns with a national effort to address the country’s dependence on overhead cables and older communications systems.

“The Philippines is at an inflection point. New legislation is finally creating the regulatory framework for modern telecommunications infrastructure, and businesses across the country are ready for enterprise-grade voice solutions that don’t depend on aging copper and cable networks. Cloud telephony eliminates the dependency on physical cable networks entirely. Businesses get enterprise-grade voice infrastructure delivered over the internet — no copper, no spaghetti wires, no legacy PBX hardware. For a country that’s actively trying to move beyond its cable infrastructure challenges, that’s a compelling proposition,” Martin Nygate, founder and CEO of Velox Networks, said.

He said the company is building its presence locally rather than serving the market from abroad.

“We’re not entering the Philippines remotely. We’ve built a team on the ground across Manila and Cebu because we believe this market deserves the same level of service and support we provide in Singapore and Malaysia. The regulatory environment is moving in the right direction, the business community is ready, and we’re committed to being here for the long term,” Nygate said.

The backdrop is visible in many Philippine cities, where overhead utility and communications lines have become both a visual blight and a safety concern.

In Metro Manila, the Metro Manila Council in 2024 approved in principle a resolution urging local government units to adopt ordinances regulating and monitoring dangling wires and overhead cables. In Cebu City, officials moved ahead in 2025 with an underground cabling project under City Ordinance 2750, which covers utility, power, television and telecommunications lines.

At the national level, the House of Representatives in February 2026 approved on final reading House Bill No. 7565, which would require electric distribution, cable and telecommunications firms to inspect overhead lines, remove dangling and unused wires, secure active lines and replace unsafe poles. The bill provides penalties ranging from PHP 250,000 to PHP 500,000 for a first offense, PHP 500,000 to PHP 1 million for a second offense, and PHP 1 million to PHP 2 million for a third and succeeding offenses.

Velox said those developments point to a wider shift from legacy physical networks toward internet-based communications services that do not require heavy investment in traditional cable infrastructure.

The company is targeting a market where many firms are still using consumer tools for business operations.

The Philippines has more than 1 million micro, small and medium enterprises, or MSMEs, according to the company, and many still rely on personal mobile phones and consumer messaging apps for business communications.

Velox said that as data privacy and compliance scrutiny tightens across Asia, the gap between consumer-grade tools and enterprise requirements is becoming more pronounced.

Its platform offers cloud-based business phone numbers designed to separate personal and professional communications.

The system also includes automatic call recording and archiving for regulatory compliance and quality assurance.

Velox said its platform integrates with customer relationship management systems and other business tools so that interactions are logged automatically.

The service also supports multi-location operations, allowing businesses to maintain unified communications across Manila, Cebu and regional offices.

The company said the platform is built to provide enterprise-grade security and uptime without the cost of physical communications infrastructure.

Velox said it has established a 12-person team in the Philippines across Manila, Cebu and other key cities.

The company said the local team is intended to combine on-the-ground market knowledge with its regional technology platform developed in Singapore and Malaysia.

The Philippine launch places Velox in a market that policymakers are trying to open more fully to new digital infrastructure players.

Under the Konektadong Pinoy Act, the state adopted an open-access policy meant to encourage investment, expand participation across segments of the data transmission network and promote co-location and co-use of infrastructure to avoid uneconomic duplication.

For enterprise customers, that policy direction may matter as much as the technology itself.

Businesses that want auditable, centralized and location-flexible communications systems have increasingly looked for cloud-based alternatives to on-premise hardware, especially in markets where fixed-line infrastructure remains uneven.

Velox is positioning its Philippine entry around that transition, arguing that regulatory reform and infrastructure modernization are now moving in the same direction.