HFCL Ltd Establishes Optical Fibre Plant in Poland

HFCL Limited (HFCL), a leading technology enterprise and integrated next-gen communications product and solution provider, has announced the setting up of state-of-the-art optical fibre manufacturing plant in Poland at the FTTH Conference 2024 in Berlin, Europe’s leading fibre optic summit. This strategic expansion underscores HFCL’s commitment to address increasing demand for optical fibre cable (OFC) in European markets and accelerate 5G and Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) adoption to align with Europe’s vision of gigabit connectivity by 2028.

European countries are on a significant digitization drive with national priorities such as Project Gigabit in the UK, Germany’s Gigabit Strategy 2030, France Très Haut Débit, and Spain Digital 2025 Agenda, among others. This has led to increased demand for optical fibre cables in European markets such as Germany, Belgium, France, Poland, etc. Additionally, factors such as bandwidth limitations of traditional copper cable networks, escalating data demands, and regulatory imperatives driving fibre deployments are underscoring the critical need for optical fibre infrastructures for modern day connectivity.

European FTTH Expansion

Europe’s optical fibre cable market is projected to experience a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 4.5% over the next five years with expected demand of 90 mn fkm p.a. by 2028. The FTTH council estimates around 308 million homes in the EU region to have FTTH connectivity by 2028, speeding up deployment by 3-5 years. This signals a rapid expansion of FTTH networks in these areas which will lead to increased demand of OFC.

Committed to meet this growing demand and contribute to Europe’s digital future, HFCL, a leading optical fibre cable player, has laid out an initial investment of up to Euro 15.9 million (INR 144 crores) for its Poland optical fibre cable manufacturing plant which will begin with a capacity of 3.25 million fibre km scalable to much higher capacity in future. HFCL currently serves 60+ customers in Europe and manufactures a range of optical fibre cables including high fibre count micro cables, micro duct, micromodule, FTTH, ADSS, underground, and aerial cables.

Given its capability to innovate around unique customer challenges, HFCL’s products are compliant to global standards and customised to meet each customers requirements within the fastest turnaround time. With a conscious focus on environment sustainability, HFCL manufactures optical fibre cables with its highly efficient and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes reducing its carbon footprint. HFCL has also celebrated remarkable achievements in the optical fibre cable space by being awarded a gold level honour at the Merit awards as well as the Lightwave Innovation Award for its high fibre count Ribbon Micro cable.

The strategic move of setting up the manufacturing plant, will help serve HFCL’s existing and new customers by reducing transit time by approximately six weeks, thus leading to increased order fulfilment capacity. The decision is also aligned to safeguard from potential regulatory shifts, encourage localized manufacturing and enhancing competitiveness in the region. The establishment of the manufacturing facility in Poland will be facilitated through the incorporation of a new stepdown subsidiary in Poland under HFCL B.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company in the Netherlands.