According to a report by Reports and Data, the global fibre optic market is expected to reach US$11.18 billion by 2030, registering a revenue CAGR of 9.3% over the forecast period. According to the report's analysis, technological advancements in the global telecoms industry have broadened broadband network deployments, which is expected to drive revenue growth in the fibre optic market.
Technological advancements in the telecom industry have significantly increased the adoption of several broadband network infrastructures such as fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP), fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) and fibre-to-the-building (FTTB). Fibre is being deployed in these infrastructures on a large scale and as a result, the continuous development of broadband network infrastructure is creating opportunities for profit growth for players in the global fibre optic market.
Optical fibres are manufactured from components such as plastic, high-quality glass and silica, which act on the principle of the total internal reflection of light. According to this principle, light is reflected at the interface between two media. Optical fibre operates on this principle and it is used in areas such as optical fingerprinting devices and telecommunications. In remote communications, this principle is used to transmit Internet, telephone and cable TV signals.
The fibre optic hardware segment is expected to show a significantly high revenue growth rate over the forecast period. Fibre optic amplifiers offer several advantages such as higher colour resolution and highly stable sensor settings. These amplifiers have the ability to limit inter-symbol interference, which makes them ideal for fibre optic communications. It offers diffraction-limited beam quality, so it can be focused as high as possible on small dots and provide greater brightness. In addition, fibre-optic amplifiers provide high output power, and the cable EDFA is a type of fibre-optic amplifier that is used to increase the output power of transmitters.
In 2020, the plastic fibre optic sector will have the largest share of revenue. Plastic fibre is made from low-cost materials and has lower installation costs, making this type of fibre more cost effective. The greater flexibility allows it to be bent without any breakage, and the installation of plastic fibre can also be done by an untrained workforce.
More and more data transmission services and technologies are being deployed in the communications sector, and the telecommunications sector is thus accounting for a significant share of revenue in 2020. Fibre optics makes it possible to transmit data in small and remote communications and is therefore widely adopted in the telecoms sector. Growing demand for other services such as video-on-demand (VoD), cloud-based services and audio-video services is driving the demand for fibre optics in the telecoms sector.
In 2020, the multi-mode segment accounts for a relatively large share of revenue due to its reduced installation, operation and maintenance costs. In addition, multi-mode cables allow multiple modes of optical signals to be transmitted at the same time. Features such as high fibre cores and increased alignment tolerances allow multimode cables to work with multiple optical components such as fibre adapters and fibre connectors. The ability to transmit multiple modes of light as well as affordable light sources makes multi-mode cables suitable for audio and video applications in single buildings and local area networks (LANs).
Revenues in the Asia Pacific fibre optic market are expected to grow at a significantly higher rate. India, Japan and China, are deploying fibre optics in the medical sector. In addition, the expansion of the IT and telecom sectors is expected to create profitable growth opportunities for operators in the region's fibre optic market.
