FiberConnect APAC 2025: Sustainable fiber network operations in the AI era

Asia-Pacific's fiber network manufacturers, regulators and service providers gathered Nov. 11–13 for the Fiber Network Council APAC's FiberConnect APAC Conference 2025, held in Jakarta, Indonesia. This year's theme focused on "Seeing the Light in the AI Era," with industry leaders and experts sharing the opportunities of fiber network advancement and sustainability in emerging Asian markets, and the success stories — elevating the fiber resources in developed Asian markets, in the dawn of AI.

The Take

➤ Indonesia aims for 50% fixed broadband penetration by 2029 while Japan continues to build next-gen fiber infrastructure.

➤ AI impacts fiber optic technologies, with increased commercial development, telco fiber build evolution, and some challenges posed from an installer's perspective.

➤ Asia-Pacific demonstrates different fiber service monetization models, addressing the region's highly fragmented broadband landscape.

The conference kicked off with opening remarks from Xiong Zhuang, President of Fiber Network Council APAC (FNCAP) and a top executive at Yangtze Optical Fibre And Cable Joint Stock Limited Co. (YOFC) and Shoichi Hanatani, Vice President of FNCAP and Chief Engineer at SANWA Technologies Co. Ltd., who set the stage for discussions on the critical role of fiber networks in enhancing digital infrastructure across the region. A highlight of the first day was the presentation by Denny Setiawan, Director of Digital Infrastructure Policy and Strategy, Ministry of Communication and Digital of the Republic of Indonesia (KOMDIGI), on "Accelerating Indonesia's Digital Infrastructure: Strategy, Sovereignty & Sustainability." Setiawan outlined the strategic framework that the Indonesian government is implementing to accelerate the development of digital infrastructure. This includes investments in broadband connectivity, and expansion of fiber optic networks, that are essential for supporting the growing demand for digital services. Setiawan also emphasized the aim for 50% fixed broadband penetration in Indonesia by 2029.

S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan projects Indonesia's fiber share of overall residential broadband market will reach 92.1% by year-end 2031. Indonesia, however, is expected to remain one of the least-penetrated fixed broadband markets in the Asia-Pacific region by 2031 due to increasing mobile internet usage and some locations not being serviceable by fiber technology, according to Kagan analysis.

Clients can access here the Indonesia fixed broadband analysis and projections through 2031 article.

In another session, Imagawa Takuo, the Vice-Minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) in Japan, shared Japan's successful strategies for fiber broadband operations and deployment, and how these can serve as valuable lessons for Indonesia and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Per Takuo, Japan continues building next-gen fiber infrastructure, aligned with the basics of Japan broadband policy such as competition regulation, assistance for universal service, and promotion of research and development (R&D).

According to Kagan estimates, fiber remained the dominant fixed broadband technology in Japan, with 40.9 million connections in 2024. Fiber's broadband household share slightly softened in recent years due to the rise of 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) in the market. Albeit the disruption, we expect fiber broadband dominance to be retained until 2031.

Clients can access here the Japan fixed broadband analysis and projections through 2031 article.

Day two of the conference highlighted how fiber optic technologies are impacted by the rising AI. Yuki Kawaguchi, assistant general manager from Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd., discussed how the booming AI increases the commercial development of the multi-core fiber technologies and ecosystem for hyperscale AI data centers. Meanwhile, Hiroyuki Nishioka, director for corporate strategy of LanTroVision (S) Ltd., emphasized the challenges of fiber network distribution, from an installer's perspective, including high-speed fiber networking form intra- and inter- data centers, and the use of reliable cooling technologies for high-density racks.

Andrew Bond-Webster, Broadband APAC Vice President for CommScope LLC, presented an overview of how AI is transforming telco fiber infrastructure, emphasizing its impact on traffic dynamics, network design, and capex priorities. Bond-Webster illustrated that AI is reshaping traffic patterns across different network layers, from core and backbone to metro and access layers, leading to increased demand for bandwidth and more complex data flows. The core and backbone layers are depicted as the "nervous system" of the network, handling millions of unique queries generated by microservices and bots, while the metro and transport layers function as the "circulatory system," experiencing significant increases in East-West traffic due to AI-to-AI interactions. The access layer, associated to the "skin system," sees a surge in traffic primarily driven by video streaming and social media usage. Bond-Webster highlighted that AI's influence extends to capex priorities, necessitating investments in infrastructure capable of accommodating these evolving traffic patterns, ultimately driving the need for innovative network designs that enhance capacity and efficiency across all layers of telco fiber infrastructure.

Fed Mendoza, research analyst from S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan, presented the Asia-Pacific FTTH special report "FTTH business models in the fragmented APAC market," in collaboration with Fiber Network Council APAC. The presentation focused on the different fiber business models in the Asia-Pacific market, evolving through the diverse and localized demands and regulatory environments, while seizing monetization opportunities.

Clients can access here the FTTH business models in the fragmented Asia-Pacific market special report.

Day three was a site visit at PT Yangtze Optical Fibre (YOFC) in Karawang, Indonesia. The highlight of the visit was the 10th anniversary celebration of YOFC Indonesia and showcasing fiber network manufacturing.

Global Broadband & Pay TV is a regular feature from S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan.