Fiber Optical Cable Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the fiber optical cable market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global fiber optical cable market reached a value of nearly $75.31 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.84% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $75.31 billion in 2023 to $108.73 billion in 2028 at a rate of 7.62%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.67% from 2028 and reach $150.16 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from rising investment in infrastructure for smart cities, expansion of telecommunication networks, increasing internet penetration, increasing adoption of IOT and rising adoption of cloud-based services. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period was strict regulations.

Going forward, increasing adoption of 5G network, rising urbanization, rise in digital transformation, growing aerospace and defense industries, expansion of e-commerce and increasing government initiatives will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the fiber optical cable market in the future include regulatory restrictions.

The fiber optical cable market is segmented by type into glass optical fiber and plastic optical fiber. The glass optical fiber market was the largest segment of the fiber optical cable market segmented by type, accounting for 68.91% or $51.9 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the plastic optical fiber segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the fiber optical cable market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 8.46% during 2023-2028.

The fiber optical cable market is segmented by application into telecom, oil and gas, military and aerospace, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), medical, imaging, railway and other applications. The telecom market was the largest segment of the fiber optical cable market segmented by application, accounting for 35.08% or $26.42 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the medical segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the fiber optical cable market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 9.79% during 2023-2028.

The fiber optical cable market is segmented by product type into single-mode cable and multi-mode cable. The single-mode cable market was the largest segment of the fiber optical cable market segmented by product type, accounting for 61.92% or $46.63 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the single-mode cable segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the fiber optical cable market segmented by product type, at a CAGR of 8.02% during 2023-2028.

Asia Pacific was the largest region in the fiber optical cable market, accounting for 46.49% or $35.01 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the fiber optical cable market will be Africa and Middle East where growth will be at CAGRs of 13.76% and 13.59% respectively. These will be followed by South America and Eastern Europe where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 13.17% and 9.38% respectively.

The global fiber optical cable market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of small players in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 14.23% of the total market in 2023. The market fragmentation can be attributed to the presence of a few small players in different geographies. Corning Inc. was the largest competitor with a 4.26% share of the market, followed by CommScope Holding Inc. with 2.16%, Prysmian Group with 1.51%, Fujikura Ltd. with 1.28%, Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd. with 1.14%, YOFC (Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Joint Stock Limited) with 1.00%, Hengtong Optic Electric Co Ltd (Hengtong Group Co. Ltd.) with 0.89%, Jiangsu Zhongtian Technologies Co. Ltd. with 0.85%, Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. with 0.58% and Nexans SA with 0.56%.

The top opportunities in the fiber optical cable market segmented by type will arise in the glass optical fiber segment, which will gain $21.69 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the fiber optical cable market segmented by product type will arise in the single-mode cable segment, which will gain $21.95 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the fiber optical cable market segmented by application will arise in the telecom segment, which will gain $13.68 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The fiber optical cable market size will gain the most in India at $4.52 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the fiber optical cable market include focusing on next-generation IBR cable (Intermittent Bonded Ribbon Cable) to enhance fiber-to-the-home expansion, focusing on new fiber capacity investment, focusing on the launch of fiber-count cables to boost telecommunications infrastructure, focusing on innovative 864-fiber micro cable that offers unmatched density and speed and focusing on strategic expansion.

Player-adopted strategies in the fiber optical cable market include focus on launching new products to enhance business offerings and focus on investments to expand business expertise.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the fiber optical cable companies to focus on next-generation IBR cable for market growth, focus on fiber capacity investment for growth, focus on high fiber count cables for telecommunications growth, focus on 864-fiber micro cables for market expansion, focus on glass optical fiber for market growth, focus on single-mode cable for market growth, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic expansion for enhanced telecom solutions, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events, continue to use B2B promotions and focus on the medical market for growth opportunities.