Domestic fiber production volume in China is expected to rise from 5.8 million fiber-km in 2000 to 16.4 million fiber-km by 2005, a 27% compound annual growth rate, says a new report from KMI Corp. (Providence). KMI analysts predict that China will use about 16 million fiber-km from overseas suppliers each year between 2001 and 2005. Domestic fiber suppliers provided China with 7 million fiber-km in 2001, a total expected to rise to 16 million by 2005. China has more than 200 fiber-optic-cable manufacturers; collectively, they used only 22% of their cabling capacity in 2001.
Continuing deregulation and accession into the World Trade Organization will accelerate China's fiber-optic-network expansion beyond the 10% annual growth it has experienced in the last decade, claims the report. Fiber-optic-cable deployment in China, among all carriers grew nearly fourfold in the five years leading up to 2001. The 2.2 million route-km of 2001 contrasts with 575,700 route-km in 1996. Deployment is forecast to reach 4.1 million route-km in 2005.
Most carriers plan to expand their networks, especially at the local access level. Annual demand for fiber for national long-haul networks will decrease over the forecast period, but demand for intra-provincial, local-access-network fiber is expected to grow.
KMI's report, "Optical Fiber and Fiberoptic Cable Markets in China-Carrier Profiles and Market Forecasts," also profiles carriers and details production volume and capacity of manufacturers in this region. For more information, visit the company's Website, www.kmicorp.com.