“We expect a surge in OFC demand”: Interview with Aberdare Technologies’ Ashutosh Mishra

Aberdare Technologies Private Limited, a leading manufacturer of optical fibre and optical fibre cable (OFC) in India, has been catering to the needs of the telecom industry. In an interview with tele.net, Ashutosh Mishra, vice president, sales, Aberdare Technologies Private Limited, talks about the company’s journey, the integration of new-age technologies into its offerings and the future growth plans…

How would you describe Aberdare Technologies’ journey in the Indian market?

Over the past decade (2014-24), the Indian OFC market has witnessed significant growth, attracting higher investments to the country. As many as 25 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and three foreign companies, including ours, have entered this industry, supporting the growth trajectory of the Indian telecom industry. At Aberdare Technologies, we have also recorded a growth in market share over the past two years.

What have been the key factors driving Aberdare’s growth despite a decline in CAGR in the Indian OFC market?

We have always been focused on 360-degree improvement and providing smooth, hassle-free service to our customers in India and abroad, thereby becoming a key contributor to their success journey. So far, we have achieved 99.99 per cent all-round customer satisfaction. This has helped us in mitigating any slack in market demand and in the compound annual growth rate (CAGR). We expect a surge in OFC demand in India by the end of 2024. This will help the industry recover from the slowdown in the global OFC market.

What have been the key business highlights for the company?

We have successfully installed six fibre drawing lines at our Pune plant to cater to the demand for quality optical fibre in Indian and overseas markets. We are planning to install six more fibre drawing lines to increase our fibre drawing capacity in India.

Since we started our business, our primary focus has been on delivering value to customers through quality products with the latest compatible technologies rather than just adding more business to the company. As a result, we have not only acquired
new customers, but also received invitations from customers to expand into other business avenues.

What are the challenges faced by the Indian OFC manufacturing industry? What
could be the possible solutions for its sustainable growth?

The Indian OFC market has witnessed a slowdown in growth over the past few years. Many companies that recently invested in establishing their OFC manufacturing plants, including micro and small enterprises, are now struggling to survive in this market. There has not been any significant demand for OFC from private players, nor has there been any initiative from the government to float new projects and support SMEs in the industry.

Moreover, the Telecom Engineering Centre has included optical fibre and OFC under the Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecom Equipment (MTCTE), which, in my opinion, is not required considering they are passive infrastructure products that fall in the telegraph line category. They do not possess any information security risk, which the MTCTE aims to mitigate. This policy could cause a setback to the industry, especially SMEs. It could severely impact many small players while benefitting some large manufacturers in the long term.

Our government should ensure that any new policy in this market should be inclusive and impartial. This is necessary for the survival of the Indian OFC market and will help India in becoming a global leader in OFC manufacturing.

What will be the future focus areas for Aberdare Technologies?

We, at Aberdare, are committed to serving our clients with the best services adhering to global standards. We are planning to add more optical fibre designs to our product portfolio. We are collaborating with our customers to  right-size their existing OFC designs, thereby reducing OFC costs and overall network expenditure.

We also plan to establish a new manufacturing facility for various telecom products in India soon. Our aim is to provide single-window services to meet all our clients’ communication product and service requirements.

We are also working with our customers to understand their vision for improvement and introduce new technologies to achieve their goals. Our priority is to provide fitting solutions to address business challenges and make customers future-ready for upcoming technologies.