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Prysmian Group’s Multi-Media Solutions (MMS) business unit is positioning itself to be ready for the new markets created by demand for communication cables during the rollout of fifth-generation or 5G services, says Llyr Roberts, MMS Global Vice President.
As the world’s largest producer of telecom cables, Prysmian Group has a broad understanding of the benefits of 5G technology. In reality, the “wireless” 5G network is not wireless at all. It relies deeply on optical fibre and other cables as the backbone, and these networks are key to unlocking this potential.
“IoT is a also creating a new emerging market, although it’s too early to convert the opportunity in to hard numbers,” he says. “Digital buildings and smart factories are only in their infancy, and all I can say is that we are getting ready as a business to take advantage of all opportunities this exciting sector will create.”
Prysmian Group’s Multi-Media Solutions (MMS) business unit is positioning itself to be ready for the new markets created by demand for communication cables during the rollout of fifth-generation or 5G services, says Llyr Roberts, MMS Global Vice President.
As the world’s largest producer of telecom cables, Prysmian Group has a broad understanding of the benefits of 5G technology. In reality, the “wireless” 5G network is not wireless at all. It relies deeply on optical fibre and other cables as the backbone, and these networks are key to unlocking this potential.
“IoT is a also creating a new emerging market, although it’s too early to convert the opportunity in to hard numbers,” he says. “Digital buildings and smart factories are only in their infancy, and all I can say is that we are getting ready as a business to take advantage of all opportunities this exciting sector will create.”
MMS is managed globally from Nuremberg, Germany, and with manufacturing facilities all over the world it produces fibre and copper data communication cables for both fixed and mobile applications. Products are sold through distributors, value-added resellers and system integrators. The cables are deployed in data centres, in all kinds of venues (hospitals, stadiums, airports, universities), in homes, and in factories. These cables will also support the rollout of 5G communications, which is poised for exponential growth.
The increasing need for data and the move to higher bandwidth will help MMS to enhance its business. In 2018, MMS posted double-digit growth and generated around 30% of Prysmian Group’s Telecoms unit revenue of €1.63 billion. For 2019, MMS is on track to do even better.
“One of our focal points is to ensure we have state-of-the-art products ready to be brought on-stream to capitalize on what emerges from 5G,” Roberts says.
One of the chief industry trends Roberts sees is a migration to products capable of supporting higher data rates as more and more information is transmitted around the globe.
“We have a path that is strongly linked to higher performance products,” he says. “Such products in an exploding market should deliver top line growth whilst also boosting the profitability of the business unit.”
Prysmian’s acquisition of General Cable almost doubled the size of the MMS business unit. The Group is now strongly placed to be a leading player in this growing indoor and private network market given that it has the technology to continually offer innovative products, has long-established commercial channels, and an efficient supply-chain. Roberts says the MMS business unit is focusing on delivering the right products for a range of applications, and which will be installed within those environments experiencing vast amounts of data interchange.
Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) will be another major driver for MMS, says Roberts. DAS is deployed inside buildings and stadiums and has already been installed in venues across the US and Europe.
