Fiber optics bring internet access to people worldwide, and the industry continues to grow. Here are some fiber optics statistics and facts in 2023 to help you understand the trends in this field.
If you’ve considered internet providers recently, you may have encountered the term “fiber optic” without knowing much about it. Fiber optics, sometimes called optical fiber37 in the U.K., are one of the best ways to provide users with high-speed internet. Communication Cable
Fiber optics are bundles of glass or plastic wrapped in a casing. They’re used to send data faster than copper cables,22 reaching close to two thirds of the speed of light.38
They’re also more resistant to interference and damage. Fiber-optic technology may be commonplace now, but its origins can be traced to the late 1880s. In this article, we’ll look at some crucial fiber optics statistics and facts.
A fiber-optic cable is a bundle of glass or plastic optical fiber within a wire casing (usually made of plastic). Compared to traditional cables made of copper and aluminum, optical fiber cables are superior in terms of data transmission.
The latter can reach download speeds of 6,000 Mbps, while traditional cables can only reach half that number.26 The principle of total internet reflection is how light travels in fiber-optic cables without distortion.21
We’ll start with a short history of this important invention. Without these wires, communication worldwide would be slower and less effective.
While the modern iteration of fiber optics came about in the 1970s, the technology behind it originated with Alexander Graham Bell in 1880.28 His invention, the “photophone,” relied on light to transmit a voice signal. However, a cloudy day could instantly make the photophone obsolete, so it was not practical at that time.
There have been many other advancements since then, including John Logie Baird and Clarence W. Hansell’s patent for using transparent rods to send images for television. Heinrich Lamm’s fiber-optic bundle was an early version of fiber optics, but it transmitted poor-quality images.
In 1970, Corning Glass researchers Robert Maurer, Donald Keck and Peter Schultz used fused silica to create modern fiber optics, which could send more than 65,000 times as much information as copper wire.27 The researchers had succeeded in their mission to send more information using light.
Seven years later, the first optical fiber telephone communication system was established in Chicago. As of 2000, more than 80% of the world’s long-distance communication cables are fiber-optic cables. The statistics below demonstrate the immense scale of the fiber optics industry’s growth.
Fiber optics demand is increasing around the world, but the U.S. hasn’t been able to keep up. By contrast, many countries in Europe and Asia have internet service providers (ISPs) that provide fiber-optic cable networks.
This figure is an increase from $7.72 billion in 2022, and the market is expected to be worth $11.36 billion in 2030. The growth rate is relatively steady and shows no sign of decreasing.10
Countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea and Japan have some of the fastest internet speeds in the world, primarily due to the use of optical fibers.2 Most of the fastest internet connections are found in this region.
If you’re curious about how much demand for fiber-optic networks there is, this section has the statistics you need.
The Fiber Broadband Association’s report32 gathered data from some of the biggest providers like AT&T and Verizon. However, many providers are hard at work laying new fiber-optic cables nationwide to meet increasing demand.
The government of Monaco started deploying fiber-optic cables in 2019 and has now announced complete fiber-optic coverage. It’s the first country to achieve this milestone. The copper network will be discontinued in December 2023 for consumers, July 2024 for businesses and December 2024 for fixed telephone lines.7
Home smart cameras send video footage directly to a cloud using the internet.35 Besides capturing video, these cameras can track approaching persons and can distinguish between vehicles, animals, humans and other objects. Some models can be controlled with a smartphone or tablet from long distances.
Since constant recording demands large amounts of data, optical fiber networks make smart cameras within smart homes more viable,9 as the immense amount of data they use can be too much for copper wires. There are also other advantages like longer range and immunity to sound.36
Using these devices consumes a lot of bandwidth,9 and only optical fiber can keep up if they’re used at an industrial scale. For example, a head-mounted display can use up to 270GB of data in an hour. This is driving demand for the gigabit connections provided by fiber-optic cable networks.
5G networks and increased traffic per average user (a 200% bump from 2017) are prompting the widespread adoption of strengthened data centers. The higher bandwidth requirements can be met by installing a fiber network infrastructure.11
Fiber-optic cables are fast, but you’d be surprised just how quickly they can deliver high-bandwidth connectivity. Here are some statistics about the data transmission rate of this powerful technology.
The tiny Asian country of Singapore has the fastest internet speed right now, according to Speedtest.net’s results. The average upload speed is 205 Mbps and median latency is as low as 4 ms29 These results are updated monthly.
A 2020 white paper from Cisco predicted this statistic, and that 39% of global broadband connections in 2023 will be faster than 100Mbps. This data confirms the trend that internet connections will only get faster as time passes, with fiber-optic cables playing a significant role.16
Data from 202217 shows that many ISPs are fighting to provide data transmission speeds, and 1 Gbps plans are becoming commonplace.
An international team set a record in 2023, sending information over 41 miles (67 km); 1.7 petabits of data is comparable to 17 million broadband connections.19 While this is an experiment, it shows how we haven’t reached the limits of fiber-optic data transmission speeds.
Price index measures the relative price changes between two periods. In the case of fiber optics, we’ll examine the average change in fiber optics prices charged by producers.
The producer price index (PPI) measures inflation within an industry by charting the average change in prices paid to producers over time. PPI is calculated by dividing the old price by the new price and multiplying the difference by 100.
The fiber optics industry’s PPI of 99.415 between 2004 and 202314 shows that producers in 2023 are charging 99.415% of what they charged in 2004. This seems to indicate that prices haven’t changed much, but there’s more to the story.
The PPI of fiber optics between 2004 and 2018 was 81.300, reflecting the common gradual drop in technology prices that comes from technological development. However, due to supply chain restrictions caused by COVID-19,39 2021 prices soared back to their 2004 levels.14
This inflation has affected the fiber-optic cable supply chain, making it riskier to invest in fiber optics.23 Germany’s helloFiber confirmed in January that it would withdraw from the local fiber-optic cable market, even filing for insolvency.15
However, this hasn’t prevented the industry from growing.13 China is laying optical fiber networks in various applications. The increasing demand for 5G is also known to increase the demand for fiber optics.30 Monaco’s total fiber optics coverage is another sign that the industry is only growing.
Prominent telecommunications companies in the U.S. are rushing to invest in fiber optics, while the federal government has approved the Broadband Equity, Access, and Development (BEAD) program to fund high-speed internet installations in all 50 states and several territories.33 Meanwhile, Europe concluded 55% of deals worldwide.20
There’s no better way to transmit data right now than fiber-optic cables, and providers are slowly offering faster cables. As data centers multiply, so does the number of fiber-optic networks. From smart homes to industrial facilities, there are many use cases for these thin glass or plastic wires.
What do you think will happen to the fiber optics industry in 10 years? Will high prices prevent growth, or will high demand encourage it? Let us know in the comments section below. Thank you for reading.
Many studies and reports show that the fiber optics industry is expected to grow steadily because of high demand, in spite of the high cost compared to copper wires.
Many optical fiber cables offer 1 Gbps connections, but the fastest cables can reach 100 Gbps.
The global industry for fiber optics is projected to continue growing until 2030, with no signs of slowing down.
The emergence of the Internet of Things, cloud-based services and smart city projects is propelling growth in the fiber optics market.
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