Since the 1990s, with the rapid development of global communication technology, Indonesia has begun to attach importance to the construction of optical cable infrastructure. The economic crisis in 1998 dealt a severe blow to Indonesia's cable industry, and until 2004, the industry's capacity utilization rate was only 25%-30% of the installed capacity. However, since 2006, the industry has begun to recover, with a total cable output of 300,000 tons in 2007, accounting for about 65% of the installed capacity of 445,000 tons. The booming power industry and the growth of exports have promoted this recovery.
After entering the 21st century, the Indonesian government launched the "Crash Plan" to build coal-fired power plants with a total installed capacity of 10,000 megawatts to drive demand for cables. In addition, real estate and infrastructure development in regions such as the Middle East has also increased demand for Indonesian cable products. However, the global financial crisis in 2008 led to a decline in sales, including in export markets, and rising prices of basic materials such as copper also brought challenges to the cable industry.
In recent years, with the construction of 5G networks and gigabit fiber networks, Indonesia's optical cable industry has ushered in new development opportunities. In 2022, the global optical communication market will be driven by 5G, cloud computing, data centers, FTTH (Fiber to the Home) and other multi-industry applications, driving the regional demand for optical fiber and cable to achieve sustained growth. The demand growth rate of optical fiber and cable in emerging markets such as Europe, South Asia, ASEAN, and Latin America is expected to reach more than 5%.
In Indonesia, the increase in Internet penetration and the development of the digital economy have promoted the steady increase in the total length of optical cable lines. By the end of 2022, the total length of optical cable lines in the country will reach 59.58 million kilometers, and the gigabit optical network will have the ability to cover more than 500 million households.
At present, the main manufacturers in Indonesia's optical cable industry include listed companies such as PT Sumi Indo Kabel Tbk, Tbk Jumbo Cable Co., Kabelindo Murni, and non-listed companies such as PT Terang Kita, PT Presmian Indonesia, and BICC of the Berca Group. These companies dominate the domestic market and are also actively involved in international market competition.