HFCL Limited has launched its innovative, high-fibre count intermittently bonded ribbon (IBR) cable at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2023. HFCL’s new 1728-high fibre count IBR cable offering will allow telcos and enterprises to accelerate installation of 5G network infrastructure, expand fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) capabilities and address the rising demand for high capacity networks particularly from data centres. HFCL is amongst the few companies in India and worldwide that has successfully developed this industry leading product.
HFCL is at the forefront of innovation, developing sustainable smaller duct size cables at its Hyderabad plant. Compared to traditional 864-fibre flat ribbon cables, the next-gen 1728-fibre IBR cable offers twice the fibre packing density in the same diameter. HFCL’s gel-free IBR cable is also optimised with high productivity mass fusion splicing for cost efficient deployment, easy installation in congested areas and quick restoration in case of any accidental outage. The manufacturing of these environmentally-friendly IBR cables is further poised to result in reducing plastic consumption per unit of fibre, lowering carbon footprint and expenses associated with network maintenance and upgrades.
As businesses migrate to the cloud and segments such as banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), e-commerce, manufacturing and retail drive demand, India’s data centre market is expected to boom and attract investments in hyperscale data centres. Currently, with 138 data centres, India is the world’s 13th largest market. As per research by ANAROCK-Binswanger, 45 new data centres—covering 13 million sq. ft are expected to come up in India by the end of 2025. High-fibre count IBR cables will complement the demand for dense fibre connectivity which is essential for enterprises to manage larger, more sophisticated data centres.
Further, the strong demand for IBR cables fuelled by increasing government’s thrust on fiberisation, investing in capex and telecom infrastructure across key global markets including India, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Middle East and other leading economies also present a significant opportunity for companies like HFCL. While the fibre penetration in India has now moved to around 38.44 per cent according to data provided by Digital Infrastructure Provider Association (DIPA), however, we are significantly lagging the 70 per cent tower fiberisation in the country by 2024-25, a target set by the Indian government. The recent Union Cabinet’s approval of the Rs 13.9 trillion plan for rural broadband connectivity is also a major stride that will lead to massive demand for fiberisation to bridge the digital divide. The launch of this revolutionary IBR cable further underlines HFCL’s commitment to emerge as a significant contributor and a partner of choice in the government’s nationwide infrastructure upgrade along with leading enterprises, and telcos.
