Role of Optic fiber solutions in the development of Indian Markets

Fiber Optics (FO) is a fascinating technology which enables communication by way of a connection that offers higher “Reliability”, “Speed” and “Bandwidth” than the wired cables. It is amazing to see that a transparent fiber drawn out of glass (silica) with a diameter slightly thicker than that of the human hair is the most widely used channel of communication connecting continents to meet the communication needs of billions of people in an efficient and reliable manner. Optical fibers are flexible and capable of being bundled into cables which allow them to be used in long-distance communications supporting lower levels of attenuation, higher speeds and larger bandwidths.

Optical fiber technology (OFT) has some definite advantages over copper wired systems. Optical fiber supports higher bandwidth, better signal strength, symmetric speeds in transmission & eliminates latency issues in networks. OFT offers higher reliability & security in networks where deployed, supporting lower attenuation in transmission over long distances, being immune to electromagnetic interference (EMI) as optical fiber is an insulator, Light in weight & requires less space for installation, better return on investments as it offers higher scalability in the networks, and many more features makes it one of the most preferred means of communication cutting across various business verticals across the globe.

Fiber optics technology can be packaged into Active and Passive Optical product offerings. They can be used across a variety of applications deployed in different segments like sensing applications which can help measure strain, speed, vibration, temperature, pressure, material properties etc used mainly by Automotive, Industrial, Geo-Exploration, Oil & Gas, Military & Aerospace, Healthcare and Engineering segments; Imaging applications deployable in Automotive & Engineering segments for inspection of mechanical welds etc., Healthcare segments in endoscopes and laparoscopes, Security & Surveillance segments in CCTVs, Cameras, UAVs & Drones; Communication & networking systems (for data, voice & video) deployed in Enterprise, Hyperscale datacenter networks, telecom networks, Industrial ethernet networks, Submarine communication, smart cities, campus networks and connected automobiles; Tactical communication systems deployed in Aerospace, Defence & Marine segments of the military; and Lighting & illumination applications in commercial aircrafts, lighting in homes & commercial buildings, optical backlighting & ring lighting of inspection equipments, and many more.

With the ever-increasing need for higher bandwidth supporting the transmission of data, voice & video in a fast & reliable manner, the backbone, distribution and last mile communication service providers are increasing the deployment of fiber optic products in their networks & systems. Increased density of fiber optics in the networks would mean high quality of fiber optic interconnectivity products ensuring lower attenuation and higher reliability in the networks. Need for reliable & faster networks expects manufacturers of fiber optic interconnectivity products to ensure higher quality standards in their manufacturing infrastructure, processes, systems & product designs and supported by the right talent to meet the high-quality requirements of the interconnectivity products.

In today’s information intensive economy, bandwidth & network speed are critical requirements. Data speeds have moved from 10Mbps three decades ago to faster speeds @ 100 Gbps, switching to 400 Gbps shortly and aiming towards reaching Terabit speeds by 2020. The datacentre channel speeds are doubling every 2 years and the terabit speeds will depend on the development of single lanes that can be modulated at 100Gbps. Higher speeds are achieved through the deployment of Fiber optic technology in the networks. Opto Electronic devices will move away from the legacy transceivers to substrate mount Optical engines (in a couple of years) and eventually move towards Integrated optical engines with a waveguide to support higher speeds.

Technological evolutions have brought some paradigm shifts in some of the critical industries like enterprise networks, mobile communications networks, and harsh environment applications. Due to the increasing bandwidth & speed requirements, the enterprise connectivity space is at a point of inflection and the trend is shifting towards Hyperscale Datacenters. The cloud has gained traction as an attractive, cost effective and flexible/scalable deployment model among the growing bandwidth demands of global organisations. Hyperscales will have very high fiber count intra-zone networks and will be populated with FO Interconnectivity products of Singlemode rather than Multimode. The Mobile communication networks have evolved over the last three decades from 1G (first generation) in 1981 to 5G currently. The 5G networks will be using Fiber Optic Interconnectivity links to connect the wireless infrastructure. Similarly, increase fiber optics adoption has increased in the Harsh environment applications. Inherent advantages of the optical fiber being an insulator, immune to EMI, light in weight, flexible, supports higher bandwidth & signal speeds and lower attenuation has resulted in increased adoption of FO technology in harsh environments & tactical communication areas. Ruggedization of fiber optic interconnectivity products makes them more suitable to be deployed in harsh environments. FO technology is used in sensing, imaging & communication applications in the harsh environments.

With respect to the Indian market, the data deluge and government Initiatives will together create a huge demand for technology to move this data and information, and will propel growth of Optical Fiber Cables (OFC) & Fiber Optic (FO) Interconnectivity Product Market in India in near future. According to “India Optical Fiber Cables Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020”, the optical fiber cables market in India is expected to surpass US$ 424 million by 2020. Nationwide connectivity projects launched by the government such as National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) and National Fiber Spectrum (NFS), and the 4G Rollout in the country are bound to boost data transmission volumes, thereby making expansion of OFC installations critical for supporting the planned network expansions.

In addition, smart cities will use next generation technologies such as LTE and FTTx, which require last mile connectivity, would also propel the strong demand for OFC & FO Interconnectivity products in the coming years. Key Government initiatives such as Make in India, Digital India, creation of ~ 100 smart cities, GST rollout are real game changers of the Indian Economy and puts India at the threshold of a digital revolution. Large scale deployment of OFC & FO Interconnectivity products will be the only solution to meet the quality & quantity needs of the broadband connectivity in India.

As India strengthens its position as the world’s fastest growing economy, it becomes imperative for the country to use highspeed broadband as a lever for growth. Some of the key drivers for increased adoption of Fiber Optic interconnectivity in the Indian market space are Growing Internet Subscription, Smart phone penetration & e-commerce: India’s internet subscriber base is more than ~ 400 Mn and growing rapidly. India’s rapidly growing smart phone market has crossed 300 Mn user base and the e-commerce sales crossing a whopping $16 Bn in 2016-17 with double digit exponential growth forecasted over the next 5 years. Such large amounts of data, voice & video signal transmissions can only be handled reliably by networks with high density fiberoptic interconnectivity products; Increased emphasis on National Security: National security is of paramount importance and our borders needs to be secured. Tactical communication, remote sensing & imaging becomes a vital part in meeting this objective. Fiber Optic Interconnectivity products deployed in tactical communication systems (Land & Naval systems), UAVs, Missile systems, Radar Systems, Aircraft cockpit electronics etc. will be able to address the communication, sensing & imaging requirements of the Indian armed forces in a reliable way; Rapid Industrialization, Digital factories & Automation: With Make in India and GST initiatives of the government, Indian manufacturing space is expected to grow significantly in the next decade. The space will belong to enterprises which focus on digitalization and automation of their manufacturing processes / systems making them lean and reliable. Large emphasis will be on connected machines, IoT and digital factories which will need a robust & secured ethernet or dedicated cloud infrastructure whose backbones will be based on fiber optics; Collaborating with the right technology partners to meet the needs of Fiber Optic Interconnectivity: To meet the growing needs for fiberoptic interconnectivity in the country as well as global need, it is critical to partner with the companies with the right manufacturing, Engineering & Design eco-systems possessing the right talent. It is extremely critical to collaborate with the right partners for high quality FO Interconnectivity products delivering reliable optical performance.

As our Honorable Prime minister said, “Cities in the past were built on riverbanks. They are now built along highways. But in the future, they will be built based on availability of optical fiber networks and next-generation infrastructure.”

Diwakar Belavadi
Director - Operations & Strategic Projects
Citadel Intelligent Systems Ltd.