Problems faced by the development of China's optical cable industry

Recently, the "2013 China Optical Fiber Development Report Conference" was held in Panyu, Guangzhou. Many academician-level lecturers mentioned the problems faced by China's optical fiber industry. Among them, Zhongtian Technology Chairman Yang Risheng Risheng mentioned the development of China's optical fiber cable. There are several issues that need attention in the process.

According to data from CRU 2013, as of July 29, 2013, more than 2 billion core kilometers of optical fiber have been laid worldwide, 49,900 orbits around the Earth at the equator, or 5,200 times the distance from Earth to the moon, and will reach 35 in 2018. Billion core kilometers. In 2012, the global optical fiber demand was approximately 251 million core kilometers, of which 248 million core kilometers were single-mode optical fibers, accounting for 98.5% of the total.

Among them, the FTTx network has a large demand for optical fibers. From 2002 to 2012, in order to build an FTTx network, a total of 422 million core kilometers of optical fibers have been laid worldwide. In 2012, China's fiber-to-the-home home coverage reached 94 million; fixed broadband subscribers have reached 175 million; and users who use 4M or more access bandwidth have exceeded 63%.

In his report, Yang Risheng mentioned that in 2015, there were 200 million FTTx users worldwide; in 2017, the global broadband households were 745 million (of which the figure for 2012 was 643.7 million).

For the global fiber demand forecast in the next five years, Yang shows that the difference between optimistic and conservative estimates is shown in the figure below. The difference between optimistic and conservative forecasts is 50 million core kilometers.

For the development of optical fiber technology, from the optimization of 1550nm wavelength applications in the 80's to the avoidance of four-wave mixing effects in the 90's, with the development of DSP dispersion compensation technology, loss becomes a major contradiction, then what fiber will be used in the 10's? To support it?

Yang Risheng mentioned that the development of fiber optic cable technology in the broadband era has the following directions: To develop a new generation of fiber with low loss for long-haul networks. Development of flex-resisting fiber for access network to meet the needs of FTTx construction; access network In the construction of FTTx, an optical fiber with an outer diameter of 200 μm will be very promising. As well as the development of small optical cables with external diameters from a few millimeters to a few centimeters, such as optical cables for microtubules: 72-core optical fibers with an outer diameter of less than 5mm; optical fiber cables with a low fiber core count: 24-core optical fibers with an outer diameter of less than 2mm; High number of fiber optic cables: 720 core fibers with an outside diameter of less than 2 cm.

Development trend of optical fiber in access network Issues of development of optical fiber and cable in China

Yang Risheng also has his own opinions on the development trend of optical fibers used in access networks. Yang Risheng believes that the future development will be oriented toward more excellent bending resistance and superior geometrical dimensions. Among them, more excellent bending performance can have more freedom and redundancy when wiring; and more system optical power margin, carrying more services. And more excellent geometry can make welding on the spot quick and convenient; and the joint loss is smaller, the connection performance is more prominent.

Yang Risheng also pointed out several major issues that need attention in the development of China's optical fiber cable industry.

The first is the current situation of excess optical fiber capacity. Yang Risheng mentioned that at the end of 2012, there were 305 optical fiber drawing lines in the country; in 2013, it is expected that the optical fiber drawing line will reach 379, with a total capacity of 210 million core kilometers, an increase of 34%.

Secondly, the import demand for the preforms is strong. Yang Risheng mentioned that at present, 60% of China's precast rods still need to be imported. In 2013, domestic demand was about 5,000 tons, and domestic supply could reach 2,000 tons, only meeting 40% of demand.

The third problem is that the localization of raw materials has become an important issue that needs attention. Yang Risheng mentioned that high-purity silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) still needs most of the imports. The quartz tube basically relies on imports, and the helium gas needs to be imported.

The last question is also a cliché problem - China's broadband construction is still a long way to go: Although China's total Internet users (564 million) and broadband users (175 million) are the highest in the world. However, in 2012, China's average Internet access speed was only 1.6 Mbps, ranking only 94 in more than 120 countries. This is not an optimistic ranking.

For Yang Risheng’s reference to China’s 60% precast rod imports this year, according to previous investigations, many domestic manufacturers have made major advances into the preform market in the past year. In 2012, the output of Chinese manufacturers’ preform rods was only around 2,000 tons. , And in 2013 China's optical fiber preform is expected to reach 4,200 tons, the domestic optical fiber preform production will continue to expand in the next two years. This is different from Yang Risheng's data.