The hot summer is here, and the optical module production workshop of Zhongtian Technology in Hekou Headquarters is also very busy. In the workshop, workers wear dust-proof clothing and operate skillfully, from material feeding, assembly, to automatic product commissioning, to quality inspection, and finally to shipment… A 5G fronthaul optical module is sent from here and delivered to mainstream operations. in the hands of the merchant.

“At present, we have enough orders in hand, and the company is going all out to meet the delivery of operators.” Fu Xiaodong, general manager of Zhongtian Communication Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Zhongtian Technology, told reporters.

As a key device for high-speed data communication, optical modules are important upstream products for communication equipment manufacturers and communication operators. As a well-known leader in optical fiber and cable in the industry, Zhongtian Technology has extended the communication industry chain to the high-end in accordance with the business guidelines of “two upgrades and two extensions”, and has emerged in the field of optical modules.

Small devices have a big market

It is understood that Zhongtian Technology began to pay attention to optical module products as early as 2014 when it undertook the project of “Research on Optical Interconnection Technology of Short-distance Large-capacity Data Centers” by the Provincial Department of Science and Technology. In 2015, the decision-makers keenly grasped the development opportunities brought by 5G construction, and held the “5G Development Chairman’s Expert Consultation Meeting” for this topic, and proposed “the extension of products from wired to wireless, from passive to active, and A new strategy for the development of communication business from weak electricity to strong electricity, and promotion of a single product to a system provider.

How to realize the expansion from passive to active, Zhongtian Technology will focus on the optical module, the core device of the bearer network. Fu Xiaodong said that through research, we found that optical modules have been widely used in fixed network broadband, 4G wireless networks, data centers, data transmission, security, power and other fields, and will be used in 5G wireless, next-generation data centers, smart The fields of cities and smart grids are developing in depth, and the market prospects are broad.

At that time, Zhongtian Technology mainly produced low-end devices such as PLC optical splitters in the field of optical devices. Not only did the products have low profits, but also the market demand fluctuated greatly, and disorderly low-price competition in the domestic market was not uncommon. Based on the urgent needs of its own industrial transformation and upgrading, the decision-making level of Zhongtian Technology decided to seize this market opportunity. “At that time, we judged that if we missed this great opportunity, in the future, as the industry chain matures, new entrants continue to increase, and the production technology of competitors in the same industry continues to improve, it will be more difficult for the company to enter this high-end product field.” Fu Xiaodong Say.

Facts have proved that this decision of Zhongtian Technology is forward-looking and accurate. Benefiting from the pull of the new infrastructure policy, the 5G optical module market will explode in 2020.

Jie Shuiping, deputy general manager of Zhongtian Technology and chief engineer of the Communication Industry Group, explained: “First of all, 5G construction has stimulated the demand for optical modules. From the perspective of networking characteristics, compared with the 4G era, 5G requires more base stations, while a single base station requires more base stations. The number of high-speed optical modules required is also greater; in the long run, after the completion of 5G construction, a large number of new applications based on it, including VR/AR, ultra-clear video, Internet of Things, Internet of Vehicles, AI, cloud computing, etc., will drive Network traffic continues to grow rapidly. As the core device for carrying network traffic, the demand for optical modules will continue to be driven. Secondly, the construction of big data centers will also simultaneously drive the demand for optical modules. A sudden epidemic has heated up cloud office and online education. , cloud games, cloud education and other industries, the rapid growth of data traffic makes the construction of big data centers hot, and the optical module market will usher in a new round of rapid development.”

Open a new journey of optical active

Doing what you say is the consistent way of doing things in Zhongtian Technology. In 2018, Zhongtian Technology chose Wuhan Xingsiwei Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. located in China’s Optics Valley as a partner, and officially entered the optical active market through capital increase and merger.

In terms of product research and development, Zhongtian Technology has increased investment and introduced high-quality research and development teams to carry out scientific research on cutting-edge optical module products. Within two years, Zhongtian Technology’s optical module products have covered three application scenarios of fixed network access, wireless communication and data communication products.

In terms of industrial manufacturing capabilities, Zhongtian Technology has added two fully automatic SMT professional production lines, equipped with automatic welding and automatic testing equipment, to improve production efficiency and fully ensure the consistency of product quality.

“We adhere to the localized substitution strategy of raw materials, rely on our own R&D and design capabilities to optimize, and maximize the performance of domestic core components, so that the optical module product can meet the requirements of industry standards and customer indicators.” Ji level added.

This time, Zhongtian Technology won the bid for two packages of China Telecom’s optical module centralized procurement, including a full range of optical module products with rates from 100Mbps to 100Gbps, marking the great progress of Zhongtian Technology’s optical module products in terms of product performance, quality and cost. , has also been recognized by mainstream operators.

“In the future, we will continue to benchmark against outstanding peers. On the one hand, we will continue to consolidate the market position of mainstream optical modules with rates of 100Gbps and below, especially 5G fronthaul optical modules. On the other hand, we will carry out pre-research work on high-end silicon optical modules with rates of 400Gbps and above.” Expose the level.

The expectations for 5G don’t stop there

More than just optical modules. Up to now, Zhongtian Technology has built four product groups covering infrastructure, bearer, wireless and Internet of Things, with more than 300 product types. “We provide 5G business connectivity capabilities, including business coverage access capabilities, multi-scheme transmission and backhaul capabilities, and physical infrastructure capabilities services, from distribution system gateways, pRRUs, terminals, indoor leaky cables, network management, optical transport networks and modules. It can realize the overall solution of passive room distribution, pico base station + passive room distribution and active room distribution, etc.,” said Shen Yichun, president of Zhongtian Technology Communication Industry Group.

The weaving of this complex 5G communication network product map benefits from the investment and innovation of Zhongtian Technology in 5G. It is understood that in the face of the development opportunities brought by the new generation of information and communication technologies such as 5G to the entire industry chain, Zhongtian Technology established the “5G and Future Optical Network Research Institute”, introduced a large number of high-level leading talents, and established chip technology as the core. Shanghai R&D team, Shenzhen R&D team with wireless technology as the core, Wuhan R&D team with optical communication technology as the core, Nanjing R&D team with software and data center technology as the core, and Nantong R&D team with intelligent manufacturing technology as the core , collaboratively innovate and develop a batch of products that meet 5G application scenarios, and gradually realize market-oriented application.

At present, 5G has become the vanguard of “new infrastructure”. The industry estimates that in terms of “new infrastructure”, the total investment scale of existing PPP projects is about 17.6 trillion yuan, and the development space of “new infrastructure” is huge. Among them, the total scale of 5G infrastructure in 2025 will be roughly 2 trillion-2.5 trillion, and the cumulative investment scale may exceed 3.5 trillion. Shen Yichun said: “With the full support of policies and economy, Zhongtian Technology will strengthen its strategy, assume the social responsibility of mainstream suppliers in the industry, and continue to contribute to the construction of 5G networks and the development of new generation information technology.”