Where there is "light", there is no "chasm".
One optical fiber, carrying thousands of information; An optical fiber connects the north and south of the world. When fiber optics were born, it was predicted that they would not be replaced in the next millennium. Today, optical fiber is not only a medium for transmitting information, but also a bridge across the digital divide, playing an important role in helping the digital economy flourish. The theme of this year's 517 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is "Digital Innovation for Sustainable Development". The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are one of the 17 global development goals set by the United Nations, which aim to completely solve the development problems of the three dimensions of society, economy and environment in a comprehensive manner from 2015 to 2030, and shift to the path of sustainable development. As an important transmission carrier of information and communication, optical fiber networks have spread all over the world, bringing digital innovation methodologies to people, and contributing to poverty eradication and sustainable development goals in every corner of the world.
Fnetlink "Tiannan Haibei"
In China, with the rapid construction of all-optical networks, the digital divide between urban and rural areas is rapidly narrowing. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, by the end of 2023, the total number of rural broadband users in China will reach 192 million, an increase of 8.8% over 2022 and 1.3 percentage points higher than that of urban broadband users, and the length of new optical cable lines will reach 4.738 million kilometers, and the total length of optical cable lines in the country will reach 64.32 million kilometers.
Today, from Mohe, the "Arctic of China", to Sansha City, the southernmost city of the motherland, from Fuyuan, a small border city in the east, to Tashkurgan in the Pamirs, optical fiber networks have not only connected thousands of households, but also gradually bridged the digital divide and helped the local area achieve sustainable development.
On the Pamir Plateau, the westernmost tip of the Motherland, there is a small border county called Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County. In 2020, all the administrative villages in this small county will be connected to optical fiber, which means that all administrative villages in Kashgar, Xinjiang, will achieve fiber-to-the-home, full coverage of radio and television, and people of all ethnic groups will watch high-definition TV and truly enter the Internet era. Relying on convenient transportation and perfect infrastructure, Tashkurgan has flourished in various industries such as farmhouse catering, characteristic homestays, and rural picking, helping the people here to get rich.
All administrative villages in Kashgar Prefecture of Xinjiang have achieved fiber-to-the-home, radio and television coverage, and truly entered the Internet era. (Source: China Kashgar Net)
The Great Khing'an Mountains, located in the northernmost part of China, is home to Mohe Arctic Village. At present, 100% continuous high-quality coverage of 4G/5G network has been achieved in Arctic Village, and all 4G/5G coverage above administrative villages has been achieved in Mohe. The coverage rate of household broadband in Daxinganling is nearly 100% in urban areas and 95% in townships. The convenient optical fiber network allows the B&Bs and restaurants in Arctic Village to use advanced information and communication means to attract tourists who send them to Ruzhi, so that residents here can also use multi-scenario smart home solutions such as "smart housekeeping" and "whole-house intelligence" like "city people", and let "Shenzhou Arctic" catch the development of the digital economy.
Fuyuan, the "East Pole of China", has already achieved full coverage of optical fiber broadband network. With high-quality network resources, Fuyuan has built a comprehensive service platform for digital agriculture, vigorously developed digital intelligence in agriculture, and realized smart farming by relying on drones, seedling trains, and Beidou navigation systems. Not only that, the local people also carried out live streaming through the Internet, and sold their own brand products to all parts of the country, which effectively promoted the development of the local e-commerce industry and digital economy.
Sansha City, one of the youngest cities in China, is located in the southernmost part of China. In 2021, the network construction of the inhabited islands of Qilianyu and Yongle Islands was completed, realizing the fiber-to-the-home of remote islands. In 2022, the optical fiber network and 5G WiFi will achieve full coverage of the Yongxing community. At present, the optical fiber network has covered all the inhabited islands in Xisha District, Sansha City, realizing that every fisherman can watch high-definition TV online, and further improving the happiness index of the people.
With the full coverage of the fibre optic network, every fisherman on Woody Island can watch HDTV online. (Source: Sansha Municipal People's Government Network)
In fact, there are many vivid cases of fiber optic networks bringing a happy life. In the past, if you want to get rich, you must first build roads. Nowadays, with the vigorous development of the digital economy, the construction of new digital infrastructure has become the only way to improve people's sense of gain and enjoy a richer and better life.
Lighting up the Belt and Road Initiative
Optical fiber not only lights up the beautiful life of the Chinese people, but also brings new impetus to the development of digital intelligence to people in countries and regions along the "Belt and Road" with the efforts of China's optical communication enterprises.
As the world's largest optical fiber and cable manufacturer, YOFC has established 6 production bases in Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil, Poland and other places for more than 10 years, and has provided optical communication products and services to more than 90 countries and regions around the world through more than 50 overseas companies or offices. In Indonesia, YOFC has been building an optical fiber factory since 2015 and carrying out fiber-to-the-home projects. By the end of 2023, YOFC has carried out overseas communication engineering projects in 25 cities in Indonesia, providing a strong guarantee for local residents to enjoy convenient Internet services. In Peru, YOFC undertook the Peruvian National Broadband Project to provide network coverage support for local remote areas, greatly narrowing the digital divide between Peruvian cities and remote mountain areas.
As a global leader in optical communication, Hengtong Optoelectronics has carried out communication network industry layout in Europe, South America, South Asia, Africa, Southeast Asia and other countries and regions, in addition to further promoting the production capacity improvement and planning of overseas optical communication industry bases, it also continues to break through the core technology in the field of submarine optical cable communication, helping to build a global marine international communication backbone network and promoting the sustainable development of the global digital economy. It is worth noting that the Pakistan-Egypt-Kenya and Egypt-France sections of the PEACE transoceanic submarine cable communication system invested by Hengtong Optoelectronics have been successfully put into operation at the end of 2022. At present, the Singapore extension project of the PEACE transoceanic submarine cable communication system is under construction, so as to expand the PEACE transoceanic submarine cable communication system to Singapore, enhance the value of existing network resources, and build a large channel for international information interconnection between Asia and Europe, Asia and Africa.
Along the Belt and Road Initiative, China's "light" has brought new impetus to the development of digital intelligence to people in countries and regions along the route.
Fiberhome, born in Wuhan Optics Valley, China, is the birthplace of China's first self-developed optical fiber. Today, he has long been well-known at home and abroad for his high-quality optical communication products. In Africa, Fiberhome, China-Africa Development Fund and China Communications Service jointly built the "China-Africa Information Highway Project" to build an "eight vertical and eight horizontal" optical cable backbone network connecting 82 large cities in 48 African countries, as well as a direct optical cable connecting China and Africa. Fiberhome has also successfully opened up the last optical fiber communication network in the southernmost part of the Sahara Desert, realizing 100G optical fiber backbone network coverage throughout Algeria, thus ending the history of inability to talk in the Algerian desert.
Zhongtian Technology actively participates in the construction of the "Belt and Road", unswervingly "goes global", practices internal skills in the internal circulation, and continuously enhances the ability to participate in the external circulation and expand the international market. Since 2012, Zhongtian Technology has successively set up factories in India, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey and Morocco, providing key technologies and high-quality solutions for more than 100 communication operators, and achieving full coverage of the "Belt and Road". In particular, in 2022, Zhongtian Technology will empower Qatar's private network operators with the world's leading optical network construction and indoor signal coverage solutions, help the intelligent construction of multiple venues of the Qatar World Cup, and ensure the smooth network in the core area of the event.
Optical communication not only allows remote areas in China to catch the fast train of digital innovation and narrow the digital divide with developed regions, but also widely integrates into the lives of local people around the world, bringing innovative power to people there to get rid of poverty and achieve development. It is believed that with the continuous expansion of all-optical networks around the world, the seeds of digital innovation will be sown in a wider region, so that there is no "gap" where there is "light", and the power for sustainable development will be inexhaustible.
Written by: Superb
Chart: Dawn
Editing and proofreading: Superb
Guidance: Xin Wen