Global shortage of fiber optic cable threatens digital growth

Prices and lead times have gone up because of a worldwide shortage of fiber-optic cable.

Europe, India, and China are the regions most affected by the crunch, with prices for fiber rising by up to 70% from record lows in March 2021.

There has been a surge in demand for internet and data services, which has led to a shortfall in availability.

In order to meet soaring demand, companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook are expanding their data centers. Governments have set ambitious targets for the roll out of 5G and superfast broadband, both of which require a lot of cable to be laid.

Given that the cost of deployment has suddenly doubled, there are questions about whether countries will be able to meet targets set for infrastructure build, and whether this could have an impact on global connections.

The total cable consumption increased by 8.1 percent in the first half of the year. North America was the fastest growing region with a 15 percent year on year increase.

The shortage is due to rising prices of some of the critical components that go into fiberoptic technology, in which light is carried along flexible fibers with a glass core.

There has been a shortage of helium, a crucial component in the manufacture of fiber optic glass, in part caused by plant failures in Russia and the US, which has caused prices of the element to increase by 135 percent over the past two years. The price of the key component in fiber production has gone up by up to 50 percent.

The chief executive of the world's biggest producer of fiber-optic cable said he had never seen anything like this inflationary crunch.

The company was ramping up production to meet soaring demand from governments, telecoms companies, and big tech groups.

Although North America has been less hit than Europe, China, and India, the prices of fiber have reached their highest level in July.

In the US, prices have fallen every year since 2012 according to Weeks. He said that it would be tight for a while but that they would get through it.

"Fiber prices have increased by at least 20 percent over the past six months and in some cases it's so erratic you need to check it by the day." He said that they add clauses with their clients so that they don't have to.

Lead times for some fiber products have increased from 20 weeks to almost a year for smaller customers.

One of the largest fiber suppliers in Britain is giving the fastest delivery to their largest customers.

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