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“Fiber optic cable represents an important part of the global investment in digital infrastructure of telecommunications companies. Demand is likely to grow to 20.08 million kilometers of fiber in 2021 and 24.48 million kilometers of fiber in 2022, “Anand Agarwal, group head of Sterlite Technologies Limited (STL) said the executive, citing a study by a London-based business intelligence firm.
STL, according to Agarwal, plans to invest 300 million rupees to increase its capacity for fiber optic cables from 18 million to 33 million kilometers of fiber, as telecom service providers have increased investments in digital network infrastructure.
Traditional telecom operators such as Reliance Jio, owned by Mukesh Ambani, Bharti Airtel, powered by Sunil Mittal, and Vodafone Idea, led by Kumar Mangalam Birla, are aggressively implementing their fiber-based networks following massive increase in data consumption, fiber to the home (FTTH) focus and the next fifth generation or 5G networks.
Almost a third or 33% of the current 6.25 lakh telecom tower base is fiberalized, while only 2.8 million fiber kilometers (fkm) have been deployed in the country as of December 2019, according to the Tower Providers Association. and Infrastructure (Taipa) based in Delhi.
The homegrown Sterlite operating in up to six countries said its utilization capacity has exceeded pre-Covid-19 levels and expects to see further improvements in the fourth quarter of fiscal 21.
Following the contagious outbreak of Coronavirus or Covid-19, it has reopened its manufacturing facilities in India, China and Europe in the middle of this year.
“We have restarted the capacity expansion of our fiber optic cable facility, in stages, from 18 million to 33 million kilometers of fiber, which is expected to end in June 2021,” added Agarwal. In the wake of the increase in data and the culture of remote work, the capital expenditure of telecom operators, according to analysts, would continue to be stronger in strengthening networks for a smooth service delivery.
The executive also said that the company’s execution for ground services has improved on a quarterly basis.
Earlier this month, the Cabinet deferred the sale of spectrum on the 3300-3600 MHz, recommended for 5G commercial services, in the next auction of 2,251 units for March 2021.
The Pune-based fiber optic company is also considering next-generation (5G) network deployments in the country and, with the ambition to build an indigenous ecosystem, has recently diversified its portfolio to include optical interconnect network products and has developed an end-to-end technology. Ultimate multi-band radio solution and indoor 5G smart small cell: Garuda.
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