S Sterlite Technologies Limited announced that it has developed the world's slimmest fibre for telecommunications - 160-micron Optical Fibre. Commending the technology innovations which are Designed in India and Made in India, Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology & Railways, unveiled this product at STL's booth in IMC 2023. Post unveiling the 160-micron Fibre, the H'onable Minister 'spliced' or ' joined' two strands of optical fibre - a highly calibrated process of perfectly connecting the cores of two hair-thin optical fibres.

Cable made with STL's 160-micron fibre can pack 3X more capacity than traditional 250-micron fibre. This has been conceptualised and developed in digenously at STL's Centre of Excellence in Maharashtra, making STL among the first companies globally to develop and patent this technology. As India becomes the fastest-growing digital economy in the world, there's a need for densely fiberised networks, both in backhaul and closer to customers.

Network builders all over the globe are in a continued quest to reduce fibre size to pack in more and more capacity in the available duct space. By packing more capacity in limited duct space with a reduced diameter cable of 6.4mm (~32% reduction compared to 250-micron fibre), STL's 160-micron fiber will revolutionise deployment, bandwidth capacity and green quotient of the networks. The at-scale impact of this innovation on India's broadband landscape can be immense.

For example - In a large-scale project like Bharatnet, where India needs to deploy ~20 Million fibre km cable by 2025, using 160-micron fibre instead of the standard 250-micron fibre can potentially reduce the deployment time by ~15%. This enables the use of ducts with a smaller diameter, thereby reducing the plastic footprint in the ground by ~30%. Incremental reduction in fibre size is an incredibly challenging feat which has captured the imagination of optical experts across the world.

Some of the key challenges in reducing fibre size below 250-micron include enhanced sensitivity towards micro-bending and increased complexity in the fibre drawing process.