Gaolan firm enters market for oceanic fiber cables

The FiberHome Ocean project at the Equipment Manufacturing Base of Gaolan Port Economic Zone is expected to produce 20,000 km of submarine fiber optic cables upon operation by the year's end. The 490 million yuan ($71 million) endeavor is to break the European, American, and Japanese monopoly in the market by then.

Headquartered in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, FiberHome Technologies is the country's leader in domestic optical communication. It founded the wholly-owned subsidiary FiberHome Ocean in Zhuhai in 2015 to develop core products with proprietary intellectual property rights. The subsidiary produces submarine fiber optic cables, repeaters, transmission equipment, and feed and submarine cable accessories. Company services include marine systematic design, installation construction, commissioning and opening, maintenance, and value-added amenities. It provides clients with overall solutions concerning the ocean network system.

Submarine fiber optic cable [File photo]

According to Cao Jun, FiberHome Ocean infrastructure project general manager, the new project is located at the Huangmao Sea Work Zone of the Equipment Manufacturing Base North Area at the Gaolan Port Economic Zone. It will be the South China Base of FiberHome Technologies researching and producing submarine fiber optic cables, repeaters, and transmission equipment.

The three-phase project will cost 2 billion yuan ($290 million). The first phase focuses on ocean engineering, and the other two centers on Smart City construction and big data cloud computing.

Cao said the production plant in Zhuhai has a length over 300 m. After an early stage of soft foundation treatment, land survey, and leveling, the construction team will start work in June and strive to complete it by year end. The whole-chain yield will be realized in 2020 with predicted annual sales of 3 billion yuan ($435 million) and 10 billion yuan ($1.45 billion) in five years.

Yu Cilong, FiberHome Ocean general manager, said the global layout of Chinese submarine fiber optic cables will greatly decrease transnational long-distance call charges and network flow fees, reduce international marine industrial costs, and facilitate implementation of the Belt & Road Initiative. He added that new projects will promote digitalization and Smart City construction of Zhuhai and support the growth of local small and micro businesses.