GlobalData analyst Kantipudi Pradeepthi stated that fiber has grow to be central to China’s connectivity mannequin
In sum – what to know:
Fiber now underpins practically all fastened broadband in China – With 99% of traces on fiber, operators and policymakers depend on it because the spine for gigabit companies, good cities and nationwide digitalization efforts.
Subsequent-gen fiber helps stabilize ARPU amid saturation – Multi-gigabit tiers, smart-home bundles and AI-enabled community upgrades flip fiber right into a platform for premium companies and new income development.
AI is changing into important for community high quality – Predictive upkeep, AIOps and clever visitors administration are shifting China’s operators towards proactive, experience-driven fiber operations.
China’s aggressive push towards a totally fiberized nation is getting into a brand new section—one outlined not by fundamental protection, however by adoption, high quality, and the mixing of AI-driven operations.
In an interview with RCR Wi-fi Information, Kantipudi Pradeepthi, telecom analyst at GlobalData, described fiber as the muse supporting China’s subsequent digital chapter and defined why operators are doubling down on next-generation networks regardless of slowing income development.
Pradeepthi stated fiber has grow to be central to China’s connectivity mannequin, noting that “about 99% of China’s fastened broadband subscriptions are already on fiber-optic traces.” Fiber, she added, is not a complementary expertise however “the spine of China’s subsequent technology connectivity,” enabling the bandwidth, low latency and long-term scalability wanted for purposes comparable to “gigabit-plus broadband, good houses, distant work, good metropolis, 4K/8K streaming, and different data-intensive purposes.”
The analyst additionally highlighted that China’s Ministry of Trade and Info Expertise (MIIT) goals to increase 5G and optical fiber networks at gigabit speeds “to all county and township seats in border and distant areas by the tip of 2025.” Operators are aligning investments accordingly, accelerating dual-gigabit upgrades, 50G-PON trials and all-optical spine deployments, she added.
With competitors intensifying and broadband markets maturing, operators are more and more trying to new fiber networks as a approach to reverse the lengthy decline in ARPU. Based on the anlyst, these networks enable operators to introduce multi-gigabit tiers, smart-home bundles and enterprise-grade options that create “alternatives for tiered pricing and bundled companies that carry general income per family.”
The shift to 10G-PON, AI-optimized all-optical backbones and converged fiber-5G infrastructure can also be serving to operators diversify past connectivity. She stated these investments rework fiber “right into a high-margin platform for digital innovation slightly than a commodity utility,” enabling companies round cloud gaming, streaming and IoT.
China is already near full fiber protection, however reaching “full-fiber readiness” by 2030 requires changing thousands and thousands of legacy cable-TV and DTH households. Operators are responding with aggressively priced bundles. Pradeepthi cites China Telecom’s CNY 139 ($19.7) plan, which incorporates 1000 Mbps fiber, 100 GB of cellular information, 1000 minutes, and 4K IPTV, calling it a “easy and cost-effective approach to change from conventional TV to fiber companies.”
“The subsequent section requires integrating fiber deployment into city redevelopment, industrial parks, and good metropolis blueprints, whereas leveraging AI-driven community planning to optimize value and effectivity,” she stated. Joint development, open-access fiber fashions, rural subsidies and home manufacturing of 10G–50G PON expertise will even be important.
China’s operators are aggressively embedding AI into fiber networks to enhance reliability, scale back prices and improve buyer expertise. Based on Pradeepthi, AI is now used for “predictive fault detection and self-healing optical routes,” in addition to clever real-time bandwidth allocation.
China Cell, China Telecom and China Unicom are constructing AI-driven operations facilities (AIOps) that “automate diagnostics, streamline area operations, and speed up fault decision,” enabling persistently excessive speeds and fewer disruptions. AI can also be enhancing in-home Wi-Fi efficiency, gaming latency and visitors balancing—key to sustaining service high quality as gigabit adoption grows.
Pradeepthi stated this shift marks a structural transformation as operators are shifting “from reactive upkeep to clever, experience-driven operations,” positioning China for a extra dependable and scalable gigabit future.
