With the accelerated construction of artificial intelligence computing infrastructure, global data centers are entering a new round of rapid expansion. As a crucial foundational material for high-speed interconnection in data centers, demand for fiber optic cables has recently surged, leading to changes in the industry supply chain such as extended delivery times and price increases.

According to media reports, data center fiber optic demand is projected to grow by approximately 76% year-on-year in 2025. By 2027, data centers are expected to account for 30% of total global fiber optic demand.

Meanwhile, global fiber optic prices have risen from a low of approximately $3.70/km in 2021 to approximately $6.30/km. In some markets, lead times for large-volume purchases have extended to approximately 20 weeks, and small-volume purchases may face even longer waiting periods.

Behind this change is the continued demand from AI data centers for high-speed, low-latency, and high-bandwidth network connections.

AI server clusters require a large number of GPUs, switches, optical modules, and fiber optic links for high-speed interconnection. Compared to traditional data centers, AI data centers have higher requirements for bandwidth density and connection quantity in their internal network architecture, thus significantly increasing the demand for fiber optic cables, MPO/MTP pre-terminated patch cords, high-speed optical modules, and related passive components.

Especially with the gradual deployment of 400G, 800G, and future 1.6T optical modules, data center interconnects are upgrading from traditional copper cable solutions to optical interconnect solutions. Fiber optic cables not only connect servers and switches but also play a crucial role in interconnecting server racks, server rooms, and data center campuses.