• Unveiled by Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology & Railways, at IMC 2023

In a proud achievement for India’s R&D functionality, STL [NSE: STLTECH], a leading optical and digital solutions company, immediately introduced that it has developed the world’s slimmest fibre for telecommunications – 160-micron Optical Fibre. Commending the expertise improvements that are Designed in India and Made in India, Mr Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology & Railways, unveiled this world-leading product at STL’s sales space in IMC 2023. Post unveiling the 160-micron Fibre, the H’onable minister ‘spliced’ or ‘joined’ two strands of optical fibre – a extremely calibrated strategy of completely connecting the cores of two hair-thin optical fibres.

Cable made with STL’s 160-micron fibre can pack 3X extra capability than conventional 250-micron fibre. This has been conceptualised and developed indigenously at STL’s Centre of Excellence in Maharashtra, making STL among the many first firms globally to develop and patent this industry-leading expertise.

As India turns into the fastest-growing digital financial system on the earth, there’s a necessity for densely fiberised networks, each in backhaul and nearer to clients. Laying ducts account for ~60% of your complete fibre deployment price, making duct area a valuable asset. Network builders everywhere in the globe are in a continued quest to scale back fibre measurement to pack in increasingly more capability within the accessible duct area.

By packing extra capability in restricted duct area with a decreased diameter cable of 6.4mm (~32% discount in comparison with 250-micron fibre), STL’s  160-micron fibre will revolutionise deployment, bandwidth capability and inexperienced quotient of the networks. The at-scale influence of this innovation on India’s broadband panorama will be immense. For instance – In a large-scale mission like Bharatnet, the place India must deploy ~20 Million fibre km cable by 2025, utilizing 160-micron fibre as a substitute of the usual 250-micron fibre can probably scale back the deployment time by ~15%. This allows using ducts with a smaller diameter, thereby lowering the plastic footprint within the floor by ~30%.

“This slimmest fibre is a noteworthy development and depicts our commitment to innovation and continuous  R&D efforts in photonics and materials science,” stated Dr Badri Gomatam, Group CTO, STL.

Incremental discount in fibre measurement is an extremely difficult feat which has captured the creativeness of optical specialists the world over. Some of the important thing challenges in lowering fibre measurement under 250-micron embody enhanced sensitivity in the direction of micro-bending and elevated complexity within the fibre drawing course of.

Talking about fixing these challenges, Dr Badri added, “Through highly calibrated process and material engineering, we have achieved a breakthrough in manufacturing processes and glass compositions to realise micro bend insensitivity. ”

This product meets telecom-grade optical efficiency requirements and complies with the ITU G.657A2 normal. This announcement comes after a sequence of innovations by our R&D specialists, together with India’s first multicore fibre with 4X capability and 180-micron fibre.

“This groundbreaking innovation exemplifies our passion to put Indian technology and R&D on the world map. I am extremely excited to imagine the future of India’s digital networks with this disruptive fibre design,” stated Ankit Agarwal, Managing Director, STL.

About STL – Sterlite Technologies Ltd:

STL is a number one international optical and digital options firm offering superior choices to construct 5G, Rural, FTTx, Enterprise and Data Centre networks.