Global Fiber Optic Cable Conference Opens in Wuhan as AI Compute Demand Accelerates Network Iteration
The 2026 Global Optical Fiber and Cable Conference opened in Wuhan on October 19, bringing together research institutions, leading companies and industry associations. Discussions focused on how surging compute demand is forcing optical networks to evolve, with multi-core fiber, photoelectric deterministic networking and 1.6T optical modules moving from laboratories toward commercial deployment.
Liu Yunjie, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said connected objects are expected to expand from 9 billion people to 900 billion intelligent agents over the next decade, with overall compute demand rising by 100,000 times. He noted that traditional internet architecture can hardly support large-scale agent communication, making network architecture reform urgent. China is also accelerating the deployment of photoelectric fusion deterministic networks, with field tests showing 400G transmission efficiency above 90%, packet loss below 1%, and services already provided to more than 40 AI companies.
During the conference, the world's first international standard for multi-core fiber was released, jointly drafted by FiberHome, Hengtong Optic-Electric, Zhongtian Technology, Yongding, Yuandong Communication and Shanghai University, providing standard support for multi-core fiber to move from pilot use to large-scale commercial application. Ao Li, deputy director of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, said AI data center optical interconnection, intelligent agent applications, 10-gigabit optical access and 6G+AI bearer networks are pushing optical communications into a new phase of systematic innovation, with 1.6T optical modules already entering commercial use.
Experts also warned of risks during the industry's current upturn. Concentrated capital inflow into capacity expansion could lead to a wave of new supply in two to three years. Gaps remain in hollow-core fiber, high-end optical components, standards and patents, while export controls and supply-chain de-risking add uncertainty to foreign trade.
