Nexst 3 | 2024 | Prysmian

NExsT 3 2024 NEWS

Prysmian to acquire Encore Wire

Prysmian will acquire Encore Wire, a leading manufacturer of a broad range of copper and aluminum electrical wire and cables, supplying power generation and distribution solutions. Encore Wire’s product portfolio and low cost of production position it exceptionally well in the transition to a more sustainable and reliable energy infrastructure. In fiscal year 2023, Encore Wire delivered revenue of approximately $2.6 billion and EBITDA of $517 million[2].

Encore Wire is highly complementary to Prysmian’s strategy. The Transaction will allow Prysmian to leverage Encore Wire’s operational efficiency and best in class service across Prysmian’s portfolio;

“The acquisition of Encore Wire represents a landmark moment for Prysmian and a strategic and unique opportunity to create value for our shareholders and customers. Through this acquisition, Prysmian will grow its North American presence, enhancing its portfolio and geographic mix, while significantly increasing the exposure to secular growth drivers. We look forward to welcoming the Encore Wire team to Prysmian and benefitting from the combined company’s enhanced product offerings and customer relationships.”

Massimo Battaini

Prysmian designated Group CEO

Latest figures from FTTH Council Europe Market Intelligence Committee

At the recent FTTH Council Conference, 2024 FTTH/B Market Panorama, Market forecast and FTTH in Rural Areas report were launched. The total number of homes passed with FTTH / FTTB in the EU391 reached 244 million in September 2023 (up 25 m from September 2022). Main movers¹ (absolute numbers) are the UK (+4.7 m), Germany (4.4 m), and France (+2.5 m). Top five in annual growth rates were Belgium, the UK, Germany, Serbia, and Croatia. FTTH/B coverage rate in EU39² now amounts to 69.9% (up 6.5 percentage points vs 2022). The number of FTTH and FTTB subscribers in this region reached 121 million. Coverage in the EU27+UK is now reaching 64.5% (vs 55.1% from 2022). Despite the progress, there remains a huge gap between fibre coverage and adoption. However, progress has been made in the EU27+UK area, where the take-up rate grew up by 1.3 percentage points compared to 2022, reaching 52.7 in 2023.

Market forecasts are consistent with previous estimates and in line with FTTH/B Market Panorama conclusions. Data foresees some 215 m homes passed for FTTH/B in 2029 in EU27+UK and 312 m homes passed in EU39. Top countries! are expected to be Germany, France, and the UK. The number of subscribers is expected to hit 144 m in EU27+UK and 201 m in EU39, with take-up rates steadily growing in both regions.

The latest FTTH/B in Rural Areas report shows that by September 2023, some 64% of European households (EU27+UK) are covered by FTTH/B networks. 48% of rural inhabitants have full-fibre connectivity, marking an increase of 7 percentage points y-o-y. An increasing number of countries have launched projects to address underserved areas, particularly rural regions. Authorities and regulators are defining ambitious national programs to achieve Digital Agenda goals for 2025/2030. Coverage of rural areas in EU27+UK is growing steadily, albeit at a very different pace among European countries. Countries with the highest Rural FTTH/B coverage are Romania (92%), Denmark (90%), The Netherlands (83%), Latvia (83%), and Spain (79%).

¹ In terms of homes passed

² EU39 = EU27+UK + 4 CIS countries + Iceland, Israel, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey

Two FTTH Council Awards for Prysmian

At the FTTH Council conference in Berlin, Prysmian received the "FTTH Innovation Award" as well as the "Champion of Diversity Award".

The Champion of Diversity Award recognizes the company's sustained efforts and strategic commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion within the workplace. This accolade highlights Prysmian's initiatives such as its global "Side by Side" project aimed at fostering an inclusive environment that supports and celebrates the diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills of its workforce.

The Innovation award recognized Prysmian's contribution to the fiber optic technology landscape with the BendBright 180 µm optical fiber. "This recognition is a testament to our unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence in the field of optical fibre technology," said Ian Griffiths, VP R&D Digital Solutions at Prysmian, when receiving the award.

Dutch project gets funding to reduce data centre energy consumption and CO2 emissions

A consortium of seven Dutch companies and research institutes will receive funding from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate after the European Commission gave a green light to the IPCEI-CIS program. The aim is to develop a modular, sustainable, and secure-by-design edge computing concept to be deployed close to end users. The guiding principle is to achieve a significant reduction in total energy consumption, from cooling to computing power and data flows. A CO2 reduction of more than 50% is set to be achieved in a validated, distributed fieldlab setup. The duration of the project is 5 years (2024- 2029).

APAC FIBRE MARKET UPDATE

APAC fibre optics market size was valued at USD 2,523.9 million in 2022. The region which anticipates a CAGR of 9.0% from 2023 to 2030 is undergoing a technological transformation, emphasizing smart cities, IoT integration, and advancements in healthcare systems. The multimode fibre optic segment dominates the market with a revenue share of 52.2% in 2022. China was the key market with a revenue share of 25.2% in 2022, largely driven by a large population and rapidly growing digital infrastructure.

DSL still dominates North Africa as fixed speeds continue to grow – Ookla

Despite increases, North Africa lags the Gulf region in fibre coverage, adoption, and internet speed. North African markets are dominated by incumbent operators and DSL technologies still predominate. Most North African countries also have a larger land mass, more varied geology, and lower level of urbanisation, making fibre deployment more complex and costly. Nevertheless, Egypt has upgraded its ADSL to VDSL and focused FTTH/B deployments in greenfield areas. Algeria concentrated on replacing copper with FTTH/B while Morocco and Tunisia deployed VDSL while progressing with FTTH/B rollout.

Average broadband usage on pace to surpass 1TB by 2029

Average monthly data usage hit 641 gigabytes in 2023, which is expected to surpass 700GB by the end of this year and 1 TB by 2029 (OpenVault Broadband Insights Report). The rise in average usage may cause some broadband operators to adjust monthly data caps or heavily promote unlimited data plans.

Fibre to fortify service provider revenue in 2024

Global fixed broadband revenue grew 7.4% in 2022 and 4.6% in 2023. Despite the slowdown Omdia predicts 'fibre will continue to be a big focus for operators throughout 2024' and a strong foundation for their revenue growth. "Global fixed broadband revenue grew 8.2% and 7.4% in 2021 and 2022, respectively, as opposed to 3.5% and 4.7% for mobile services," reported Ronan de Renesse, senior research director for Service Provider Markets, Omdia. However, fixed broadband revenue growth slowed to 4.6% in 2023, around the same as mobile growth.” Last year marked the first time services revenue from fibre exceeded 50% of total broadband revenue. Services revenue from fibre is forecasted to grow to 53% this year, a net revenue increase of $17 bn globally, according to Omdia.

Broadband equipment spending expected to pick up Q3/Q4 2024

According to a newly published report by Dell'Oro Group, sales of Broadband Access Equipment are expected to decline by 1 percent from 2023, with the first half of 2024 seeing continued weakness followed by an improved spending environment in the second half of the year. Ongoing subsidization efforts, the shift from copper to fiber, and the rollout of cable distributed access architectures will all propel the Broadband Equipment market from 2025 on.

Scientists compute with light inside hair-thin optical fiber

Scientists at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, have found a way to program optical circuits critical to future technologies such as ultrafast quantum computers. The researchers showed how programmable optical circuits can be used to manipulate quantum entanglement, a phenomenon when two or more quantum particles – such as photons– remain connected even across vast distances. Entanglement plays a key role in many quantum technologies, such as correcting errors inside a quantum computer and enabling the most secure types of quantum encryption. "Light can carry a lot of information, and optical circuits that compute with light—instead of electricity—are seen as the next big leap in computing technology," explains Professor Mehul Malik, experimental physicist and Professor of Physics at Heriot-Watt's School of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

Newly-developed optical fibre can carry more than 10 mn fast home internet connections

Researchers have set a new speed record for an industry standard optical fibre, achieving 1.7 Petabits over a 67 km length. The fibre used, which contains 19 cores that can each carry a signal simultaneously with uniform low losses, meets the global standards for fibre size. This ensures the new technology can be adopted without massive infrastructure change.

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Nexst 3 | 2024