The internet enables a lot of things; communication, banking, and cat videos are definitely in the top five.
But what enables the internet? That would be the thousands of kilometers of fiber optic cables— thin cylinders of dielectric material capable of transmitting information using light.
The map below from TeleGeography provides a look at submarine cable networks (a fully interactive version can be found on their website). These undersea cables are the backbone of the internet, and they connect every continent (except Antarctica).
Global submarine cable map
Source: TeleGeography Submarine Cable Map
Fiber optics are a multi-billion dollar industry that’s only going to grow in value thanks to higher and higher demand for internet connectivity.
Seven reasons fiber optic networks are expanding:
- Evolution from voice-only networks to converged networks that provide ultra-high-speed data services
- Adoption of 3G and 4G, and the evolution of 5G
- More devices connected to networks, which leads to rising IP traffic and bandwidth expansion
- Rising number of data centers
- Government initiatives to upgrade and develop broadband network infrastructure to provide greater broadband access
- Increasing investment in research and development and expanding optical fiber production capacity
- Growing number of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) subscribers
All these factors will boost the global fiber optics market to the tune of $4.5 billion over the next four years. According to new research from Technavio, the market will reach a total value of $12.18 billion by 2020.
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To calculate the market size, Technavio considers the revenue generated from the sale of optical fiber and cables but doesn’t take into account the sale of peripheral hardware like amplifiers, attenuators, and switches.
Top 12 fiber optics events of 2015
2015 was a big year for fiber optics. Capacity expansion and mergers and acquisitions shifted the market landscape considerably.
And while the events that have shaped the current market scenario are too numerous to list here (you’ll have to check out our full report for that), a few key events stood out from the crowd:
July 2015: KKR, a leading global investment firm, bought the majority stake in the German fiber optic network operator Deutsche Glasfaser, and planned to invest $489 million in the construction of an optical fiber network in Germany.
July 2015: Huawei Technologies announced plans to deploy 4,000 km of fiber optic cable in Guinea by 2017.
September 2015: Prysmian announced plans to invest $16.31 million to increase its optical fiber production capacity in France. It produces 30 million kilometers of optical fiber per year from its plants located in Brazil, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and the US.
January 2015: Corning acquired TR Manufacturing, one of the leading providers of fiber optic and copper cable and component interconnects. The acquisition will help Corning enhance its product offerings to enterprises. In March 2015, Corning also acquired the fiber optics division of Samsung Electronics, which will help the company expand in the APAC region.
January 2015: Yangtze Optical Fibre & Cable and PT Monas Permata Persada, a limited liability company, entered into a joint venture agreement to promote and develop optical fiber manufacturing.
The National Democratic Alliance of India revised the National Optical Fiber Network project, which was initiated in 2011 to connect over 200,000 gram panchayats in India. Under this revised project, 250,000 gram panchayats will be connected to high-speed broadband networks using optical fiber.
January 2015: Andhra Pradesh announced plans to connect 12 million households with broadband that has download speeds of 10-15 Mbps for $2.42 per month.
September 2015: The governments of Kenya and South Sudan announced plans to establish optical fiber cable systems from the Kenya-South Sudan border to Juba within the next two years, thereby enhancing communication and inter-border trade. The construction project is expected to commence in May 2016 and will be completed by February 2019.
November 2015: Australia’s Nextgen and Vocus, a network provider, signed a $120 million joint venture memorandum of understanding to construct a fiber optic network linking Perth and Singapore.
December 2015: The California Public Utilities Commission approved $16.7 million in funding for Spiral’s Gigabit Internet Network Project in Nevada County. Phase one will enable gigabit symmetrical Internet access speeds over a new 100% fiber optic network for 1,941 households.
December 2015: Comporium, a US-based telecommunications company, declared the completion of its ultra-high-speed gigabit broadband service into the Midlands. The fiber technology is business-ready and is accessible to 8,800 customers, including 1,200 businesses and 7,600 residences, primarily in Lexington and surrounding communities near Lake Murray and Chapin.
December 2015: USA FIBER collaborated with Montgomery County and its ultraMontgomery program. The main objective is to interlink FIbernet, the county’s communications network, with USA FIBER’s new Ashburn-to-Baltimore core-fiber route. The technology-based program was developed for economic development and making ultra-high speed Internet networks accessible for all.
