Scarcity of Fibre Optic Cables Could Spell Doom For IT Companies
TECH DIGEST– Critical communications infrastructure projects globally are expected to have considerable delays due to a severe scarcity of fibre optic cabling.
According to a Cru Group analysis, the cost of fibre has increased by 70% in the past 18 months as demand for internet-based services has increased and nations move forward with their individual 5G rollouts.
There are now concerns about whether countries will be able to reach targets established for infrastructure build and whether this will have an impact on global connectivity given that the cost of deployment has unexpectedly doubled, according to Cru.
Fiber optic cabling is a key building block in almost all significant infrastructure projects, from high-speed broadband to 5G and the underwater cables that support the services of the biggest technological companies in the world, despite the fact that the technology itself receives little attention.
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The current problems will also have an effect on the construction of new data centre buildings, impeding expansion plans for VPN, cloud storage, web hosting, and similar businesses.
Numerous variables, including a sharp increase in demand (consumption is up 8.1 percent year over year) and shortages of essential components used in manufacturing, including silicon tetrachloride and helium gas, are to blame for the current shortfall.
The CEO of Corning, the biggest manufacturer of fibre optic cable in the world, said that his company is frantically trying to raise production capacity because it has “never encountered anything like this inflationary crunch.”
The shortfall has resulted in not just erratic pricing changes but also significantly longer lead times. Small businesses with less influence are apparently having to wait up to a year, while large enterprises with strong relationships with manufacturers are likely to have it easier.
