Nantong, China, November 20, 2025 --- In the early winter, the riverside city welcomes another major industry gathering. Today, the 2025 Global Optical Fiber and Cable Conference, jointly organized by the Asia Pacific Optical Fiber and Cable Industry Association (APC) and Zhongtian Technology Group, grandly opened in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. With the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology as the guiding unit, the conference received guidance and strong support from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, the Jiangsu Provincial Communications Administration, and the Nantong Municipal Government. The conference attracted over 700 attendees, an unprecedented scale, featuring more than 40 reports. Under the theme "Fiber Leads the World, Data Drives the Future," the conference brought together over 700 government representatives, industry leaders, experts, scholars, and supply chain elites from dozens of countries worldwide to jointly map out a new development blueprint for the global optical fiber communication industry.
At the opening ceremony, Gao Feng, APC Deputy Secretary-General and Secretary-General, presided over the release ceremony of the "Global Optical Fiber and Cable Industry Development Report (2025)" and delivered a core interpretation of the report. Witnessed by all attendees, APC Conference Chairman Mao Qian, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) Chief Engineer Ao Li, Zhongtian Technology Group Chairman Xue Chi, Hengtong Group President Cui Wei, Fiberhome Technologies Vice President Li Shiyu, Yongding Chairman Mo Siming, APC Deputy Secretary-General Yan Changkun, and APC Deputy Secretary-General and Secretary-General Gao Feng jointly pressed the launch device, marking the official global release of this authoritative report jointly compiled by the Asia Pacific Optical Fiber and Cable Industry Association and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.
This released report embodies global industrial wisdom and holds significant strategic value and milestone importance. With its forward-looking global perspective and in-depth industrial chain analysis, it provides a scientific decision-making basis and clear action guide for the global optical fiber and cable industry, which is at a critical juncture of cycle transition. The report systematically reveals the profound changes the industry is undergoing: the global optical fiber and cable industry has officially entered a new cycle characterized by "rising volume and price, value reconstruction." Global demand reached 498 million core kilometers in 2025 and is expected to accelerate growth to 534 million core kilometers in 2026, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%. In terms of price, global fiber prices have shown a clear rebound since May 2025, rising by about 12% compared to 2024.
The value of the report lies not only in its accurate grasp of the current situation but also in its forward-looking judgment of future trends. Research indicates that the North American market has become a global growth pole driven by both AI computing power and policy, with a compound annual growth rate as high as 12.4%. Data center interconnection demand is experiencing explosive growth, with US DCI cable demand increasing by 102.58% year-on-year. At the technological frontier, hollow-core fiber is moving from the laboratory to commercial application, with Chinese enterprises achieving collaborative breakthroughs. Simultaneously, global supply chain strategies are undergoing a fundamental shift from "efficiency-first" to "security and controllability." China's preform exports surged by 64.2% in the first half of 2025, supporting the operation of emerging global manufacturing centers.
This report provides clear and crucial strategic guidance for all parties in the global industry. For enterprises, the report recommends focusing on promoting three major strategies: precise positioning to avoid market risks, forward-looking investment to master next-generation fiber technology, and systematically building a more resilient supply chain system. For policymakers, the report specifically calls for improving innovation support systems and establishing sound market mechanisms---especially through procurement guidelines advocating "high quality for good price" to effectively curb low-price competition---to jointly create a healthy and orderly industrial ecosystem. These globally-informed recommendations provide a practical framework for the industry to cope with changes and will strongly promote the global optical fiber and cable industry towards a new stage of higher quality and more sustainable development.
As an authoritative research achievement jointly released by APC and CAICT, this report is not only a bellwether for industry development but also a "connector" for promoting global collaboration. By innovatively constructing an enterprise competitiveness evaluation system, it provides precise positioning references for enterprises on different development paths. Through in-depth analysis of regional market differentiation and structural opportunities, it offers a scientific basis for global industrial layout. Through systematic research and judgment on technological evolution and supply chain restructuring, it provides reliable support for all parties to grasp future trends.
As a joint achievement of APC, a global industrial organization, and China's top think tank, the report aggregates real data and cutting-edge insights from regional markets worldwide. Its conclusions possess broad representativeness and high authority. In the complex environment where technological paths, market structures, and supply chain logic are simultaneously undergoing profound reconstruction, the report lights the beacon for enterprises, provides a clear industrial map for decision-makers, and helps global participants accurately grasp the core context and future direction of industry development.
The release of this report is bound to provide powerful intellectual support for the global industry to respond to changes and seize opportunities. It will have a significant and far-reaching impact on building a more resilient, collaborative, and sustainable new ecosystem for the global optical fiber and cable industry.
At this conference, another significant achievement demonstrating APC's industry influence---the international standard "Wide Spectrum Cut-off Wavelength Shifted Single-Mode Optical Fiber for S+C+L Band WDM Systems"---was officially released. The standard release ceremony was jointly launched by APC Conference Chairman Mao Qian, China Mobile Design Institute Wired Research Institute Director Yang Tianpu, China Mobile Research Institute Basic Network Technology Research Institute Deputy Director Zhang Dechao, APC Deputy Secretary-General and Secretary-General Gao Feng, Fiberhome Technologies Senior Expert Liu Cheng, Shanghai University Professor Chen Wei, APC Technical Committee Deputy Director Cao Shanshan, and Hengtong Optical Fiber Director He Zuowei, marking the official birth of this important international standard.
The release of this standard signifies a major breakthrough in APC's influence and voice in the field of international optical communication standard setting. As a global industrial organization, APC successfully led and released this pioneering technical standard, fully demonstrating its ability to consolidate global industrial consensus and guide technological development direction. This standard innovatively shifts the fiber cut-off wavelength to the S-band, fully covering the ultra-wide spectrum from 1460nm to 1625nm for the first time, increasing the available spectrum bandwidth to 20.86THz. It provides crucial fiber infrastructure support for the future "AI+" era.
More strategically, through the formulation and release of this standard, APC has established its key position in the global optical communication standard system. This not only provides unified technical specifications and a development path for the global industry but also showcases APC's core value in promoting industrial collaborative innovation and healthy industry development. The release of this standard will profoundly influence the future evolution direction of optical transmission technology, reshape the global market competition landscape, lay a solid foundation for building new optical networks for the AI computing era, and also set a successful precedent for APC to lead more important international standards in the future.
The conference lasts for three days. Concurrent events will include the "19th ODC Global Optical Communication Forum," the "2025 Global Top 10 Most Competitive Enterprises in Optical Communication Awards Ceremony," as well as multiple thematic reports on "AI Intelligent Computing Fusion Computing Power" and "Marine Communications," injecting vigorous momentum into the sustainable development of the global optical fiber and cable industry.
The APC Association will continue to promote the healthy development of the optical fiber and cable industry and facilitate the entire industry in jointly building a smarter, greener, and more interconnected industrial future.
