The reason for the soaring of optical fiber and cable is revealed!

China Mobile’s quotations for optical fiber cables have increased significantly. China Mobile announced this year’s 21-22 years of central procurement of ordinary optical cables, 142.3 million core kilometers, an increase of nearly 20% year-on-year. Last year, the actual bid price was about 40 yuan per core kilometers, and this year’s budget was capped. It is still 68.8 yuan/core-kilometer, and China Mobile has optimized its bidding rules this year, and the price has risen significantly. As the world's largest purchaser, China Mobile will affect global supply and price trends, which deserves attention.

In 21 years, the total bidding amounted to 4.47 million skin lengths (143.2 million core kilometers), an increase of 20% compared to the 3.75 million skin lengths (119.2 million core kilometers) tendered in 2020. The 20-year quotation has averaged an optical fiber price of 20 yuan per kilometer, and an optical fiber cable price of about 40 yuan. This time the quotation has risen significantly. Institutional tracking estimates that the average price of optical cables is more than 60 yuan (at the same time reflecting the increase in the price of optical fibers and the increase in the cost of raw materials such as optical cable copper).

Fiber optic cable price per kilometer: YOFC 64 (+64%), Hengtong 65 (+65%), Zhongtian 66 (+34%), Fiberhome 65 (+47%), Fortis 65 (+65%).

The industry competition pattern is basically stable. The traditional top 5 are Hengtong Optoelectronics, YOFC, Futong Information, Zhongtian Technology, and Fiberhome. From the survey, after 2019, manufacturers have basically not expanded the production of light rods, and as some small and medium-sized manufacturers have cleared their production capacity, the industry's supply has improved.

From an industry perspective, this year's domestic fiber optic cable core suppliers have tight production capacity, and overseas domestic purchase prices and bulk fiber prices have risen to varying degrees. The bidding price of China Tower in July this year has been significantly higher than that of last year. On September 28, Corning announced the expansion of AT&T's long-term cooperation. Corning expanded its production in the United States by US$150 million, showing that global fiber optic cable prices have bottomed out and demand has increased.

The promotion of overseas FTTH construction is expected to bring about incremental demand. In March 2021, the European Union released the "European Digital Decade Plan". By 2030, all households in the European Union will switch to gigabit networks. The current FTTH/B network coverage in the 39 EU countries is 50%-60%, and the future European fiber optic coverage It will continue to advance steadily. In addition, under the epidemic situation, operators across the United States are booming broadband construction, expanding fiber optic networks, and AT&T has prompted a shortage of fiber optic cables. Therefore, the demand for overseas optical fiber and cable will continue to grow in the future. At present, the export proportion of domestic optical fiber and cable manufacturers is generally not high. As domestic manufacturers further increase their efforts to expand overseas markets, the proportion of optical fiber and cable exports is expected to further increase.

The focus of the optical fiber and cable sector includes Hengtong Optoelectronics, YOFC, Zhongtian Technology, Fiberhome Communications, and Tongding Interconnection.