HFCL has approved a capital expenditure of approximately Rs 400 crore to further expand its optical fibre (OF) and optical fibre cable (OFC) manufacturing capacities, strengthening its position to meet rising global demand. The expansion will be funded through a mix of internal accruals and debt and is expected to be completed by July 2028.
The company said the decision was driven by its strong order book for optical fibre cables and optical connectivity products, a robust pipeline of new business opportunities, and a favourable long-term demand outlook. According to HFCL, growing demand is being fuelled by the rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure, hyperscale data centres, cloud computing, high-performance computing, 5G rollouts, fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) services, broadband expansion, enterprise fibreisation, rural connectivity initiatives, and telecom network modernisation programmes.
Following the expansion, HFCL’s total optical fibre manufacturing capacity will increase to 38.50 million fibre kilometres (fkm) per annum from the current expansion target of 33.90 million fkm. Meanwhile, optical fibre cable manufacturing capacity will rise to 56.36 million fkm per annum from the ongoing target of 42.36 million fkm.
The company currently has an installed capacity of 28 million fkm for optical fibre and 34 million fkm for optical fibre cables. The latest investment is expected to enhance HFCL’s production capabilities and support growing domestic and international demand for high-speed digital connectivity infrastructure.
