The rapid expansion of AI data centres, structural transformations in defence systems and renewable-energy infrastructure is reshaping fibre demand, driving the need for higher-density, application-specific and specialised connectivity solutions. In an exclusive authored article shared with Wire & Cable India, Mr. Girish Gupta, SVP & Business Head – Telecom & Convergence, APAR Industries Limited, examines these evolving requirements and the industry’s shift towards application-led connectivity.
The Demand Equation is Changing — Beyond Traditional Telecom Demand
The Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) industry is entering a new phase. For nearly three decades, growth in optical fibre has been driven primarily by conventional telecom applications—mobile networks, broadband, enterprise connectivity and long-distance communications. The next phase, however, is being shaped by a broader set of applications, including AI data centres, advanced defence systems, renewable-energy infrastructure, enterprise digitisation and the continued digitalisation of homes and businesses.
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Three major structural shifts are making this change in the industry demand:
AI Data Centres
Artificial Intelligence is creating one of the largest infrastructure investment cycles in the history of the digital economy. The rapid adoption of Generative AI, Large Language Models, AI inference, autonomous systems and AI-enabled applications is driving unprecedented growth in computing requirements. This is translating directly into demand for high-density GPU infrastructure and consequently a new generation of large-scale AI data centers. But the AI transformation is changing more than the size of data centers. It is fundamentally changing their power density, network architecture, bandwidth requirements and optical connectivity.
Traditional data centers were predominantly designed around moderate CPU workloads. AI workloads are fundamentally different, requiring training and inference with large numbers of GPUs operating together as highly interconnected computing clusters. The performance of the AI system is therefore increasingly dependent not only on GPU processing power but also on the ability to move enormous volumes of data across multiple data centers and within data centers. The architecture therefore increasingly depends on high-bandwidth, low-latency and highly reliable optical networks. This creates a structural increase in the requirement for fiber connectivity with high-density patching, high fiber count trunk cables, MPO fiber cable systems, bend optimized fibre and connectorized solutions to enable the required scale.
The very important distinction to note is that in traditional telecom networks, fibre demand is primarily driven by route kilometres × fiber count, whereas in AI data centers the economics are increasingly driven by number of optical ports × speed × architecture × redundancy. A relatively small physical data centre campus can therefore generate an enormous amount of fiber demand because of the density of internal optical connections. This shift is also creating a specific fiber corridor demand for Data Centre Interconnect (DCI) – a dedicated fiber network which is more reliable, high capacity with less flaps and low latency.
Structural Transformation in Defence Connectivity
Electronic warfare (EW) has evolved exponentially over the past decade and has fundamentally changed the global defence ecosystem. The evolution of modern warfare has increasingly shifted from conventional kinetic attacks toward the ability to detect, disrupt, deceive and deny an adversary’s electromagnetic spectrum.
This evolution has also accelerated the importance of electronic attack, jamming and spoofing, where RF-based communication, navigation and control systems can be deliberately disrupted or manipulated. As defence forces increasingly depend on connected platforms, the resilience of communication links has become as critical as the platforms themselves. This has created a new requirement for highly secured requirements for drones, UAVs and other unmanned systems towards resilient connectivity. In environments where conventional RF communications are vulnerable to interference, interception or spoofing, fiber-linked and tethered connectivity is providing a fundamentally different communications architecture. Fiber offers a highly secure, low-latency and EMI/RFI-immune communication medium, making it particularly attractive for applications where communication integrity, reliability and resistance to electronic attack are critical.
The result is an emerging convergence between electronic warfare, unmanned systems and fiber-optic connectivity, creating a new and rapidly expanding opportunity for specialized defence-grade fiber solutions.
Renewable Energy: New Distributed Architecture of Power Industry
The global energy system is undergoing a fundamental transformation. The rapid deployment of solar, wind, battery storage and distributed energy resources is changing not only how electricity is generated, but also how power networks need to be monitored, controlled and protected. The traditional power grid was designed around a relatively small number of large, predictable generation assets. The renewable grid is fundamentally different. Generation is becoming more distributed, geographically dispersed, more variable which in turn pushes the need for a 100% digitally controlled environment.
The rapid build-out of renewable-energy assets is creating another growth opportunity for fibre. As solar and wind installations become increasingly distributed and digitally managed, fibre is being deployed for real-time monitoring, control, asset management and predictive maintenance.
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APAR Telecom Solutions: Shift from Telecom to Application-lead Connectivity
Against this changing industry backdrop APAR Telecom Solutions has significantly evolved over the last couple of years. APAR is among the leading players in India’s optical fibre cable segment, with more than two decades of experience in connectivity. However, the business has increasingly moved beyond conventional cable manufacturing towards engineering telecom solutions for application-specific requirements. Its capabilities span design, application engineering and customised manufacturing, supported by backward-integrated material science capability. Today, APAR Telecom Solutions has evolved beyond requirements of FTTH, 5G, Rural connectivity to AI-driven data centres, defence, power, and renewable energy requirements.
Importantly, the company’s capabilities have expanded beyond traditional telecom applications over the last 3 years into specialised defence solutions spanning tactical systems, torpedo applications and other mission-critical platforms. APAR has also entered the fibre-based drone segment, further expanding its application-led defence portfolio. These solutions are being deployed across Indian defence applications, demonstrating how fibre is extending from conventional fixed infrastructure into highly specialised and mission-critical systems. In renewable energy, APAR also provides connectorized fibre solutions for connecting, monitoring, control and data transmission, supporting the growing digitalisation of solar, wind and other energy infrastructure.
The company has also invested and developed data-centre cable solutions designed for increasingly power and fibre-intensive architectures, enabling customers to address the growing bandwidth and high current requirements of AI and next-generation computing environments.
As applications become more diverse, the requirements placed on the underlying fibre and cable architecture are also changing. This is leading to a more application-specific approach to material selections such as fibre and jacketing materials. The fibre that is optimal for a dense AI data centre may not be the same as that required for a long-distance telecom network, an urban deployment or a specialised defence system. The current shift is not only shaping the demand of fiber but also shifting the type of fiber demand, from conventional G652D fiber to G657A1/A2 and G654E fibers. Standard jackets are getting replaced with installation and application specific jacketing materials.
The question, therefore, is not which fibre is universally superior, but which fibre and cable architecture best fits the application and the environment in which it will operate. As networks become more complex and applications more demanding, cable design is increasingly moving beyond a standardised approach. Density, bend requirements, mechanical strength, weight, installation conditions and application-specific installation environment are becoming important considerations alongside the fibre itself.
For a connectivity solutions provider, this creates an opportunity to move up the value chain—from supplying fibre and cable to engineered solutions around the specific requirements of the end application. This is where APAR Telecom Solutions’ evolution becomes significant. Its growing product range across AI data centres, defence, renewable energy and advanced telecom networks reflects this shift from conventional cable supply towards application-led connectivity.
The opportunity is therefore to develop the right connectivity solutions for evolving specialised applications architecture.
For nearly seven decades, APAR Industries Limited has been a trusted partner in India’s infrastructure journey, contributing to the development of power T&D networks that have supported the country’s industrialisation, electrification, and economic growth. Building on this legacy of engineering, manufacturing and infrastructure expertise, APAR has continued to evolve with the changing connectivity landscape—from conventional telecom networks to increasingly specialised, application-led connectivity solutions.
