Essential for testing the operations of fiber optic cables and the feasibility of such networking in specific applications, pre and post installation, the demand for fiber optic tester equipment has witnessed a strong rise in recent years.
With widespread applications in various commercial fields such as telecom, medicine, defense, automotive, and television among others, the need for fiber optics networks and consequently fiber optic testers is also projected to grow rapidly, owing to the constant development of communication infrastructure.
Using tester equipment well before the installation process ensures that failures of the fiber optic system are few and far apart, which also results in significant reductions in repair and maintenance costs over the system’s lifespan.
Extensive Upgrades from Copper to Fiber Optics to Generate Demand
With the rapidly growing telecom sector across the globe, and international government support towards the development of communication network infrastructure, the requirement for fiber optics cables is expected to go through a strong growth cycle in the years to come.
Developing countries such as China and India are anticipated to account for nearly 50 per cent of all the new mobile subscribers in the near future, owing to the introduction of 5G technologies. Governments in these regions are investing significant amounts in this technology, which is largely dependent on fiber optic cables, and consequently fiber optic tester equipment.
Even more significantly, the UK government, recently announced as a part of its Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review that it intends to facilitate an industry-wide switchover from all copper cables to full fiber networks.
Data Center Proliferation Provides Extensive Application for Fiber Optic Testing
Larger investments in 5G technology is anticipated to boost the growth of the fiber optic testers, in the future. In addition, the growing numbers of data centers internationally are also creating a large requirement for fiber optics.
Owing to significant benefits on the basis of monetary savings and enhancements to high-speed data transmission, in comparison to copper cables, the applications of fiber optic testing is growing rapidly across data centers around the world. The constantly rising use of social networking apps and websites for streaming videos, and other consumables, requires a massive amount for data.
In recent times, fiber optics are also finding applications in modern medical equipment which creates opportunities for fiber optic testers across the healthcare industry as well.
Manufacturers Focus on Product Functionality Enhancement
With growing requirement for fiber optic networks, tester equipment manufacturers are focusing on increasing functionality to meet the large international needs.
For example, JDSU Fiber Optics has revealed its T-Berd 6000 fiber optic testing platform that boasts of a compact and low-weight system for improved installation and maintenance processes for fiber optic networks. The product offers more than 40 unique modules that allows for greater photonic fiber optic testing from a single source.
EXFO of Canada has also introduced its FTBx-5235 – Optical spectrum analyzer, for optimal accuracy in measuring wavelength and channel power for dense wavelength division multiplexing networks, and remote PHY setup requirements.