Author: Fan Feifei | China Daily | Update time: 2021-12-14 09:33

Roger Roger, the chief technology officer of Yangzi Optical Cable Co., Ltd., a global leader in the field of optical communications, has a sense of mission to break through the key technologies of China's optical fiber and cable industry.

In his view, building core competitiveness through independent innovation is of great significance for companies to enhance their competitiveness, expand their product portfolio, and expand their global presence.

"The entire network is connected by optical fiber. With the development of wireless technology, the requirements for bandwidth and transmission rate are getting higher and higher, which has greatly promoted the progress of optical fiber technology." Luo said, emphasizing The importance of fiber optic technology. Optical fiber supports the development of ultra-high-speed 5G wireless technology.

Established in 1988, YOFC is a joint venture composed of three partners. They are the former Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Wuhan Municipal Government and Royal Philips of the Netherlands.

Luo said that the optical fiber-related manufacturing technology was originally imported from Royal Philips. The company only produced products in accordance with foreign standards and could not change technical parameters and improve product performance.

In 2000, YOFC established a research and development department and started the journey of independent innovation. After Mr. Luo resigned from the research work of Wuhan Institute of Posts and Telecommunications, he became the general manager of the R&D department.

Luo and his team have done a lot of research and conducted countless experiments under tremendous pressure. Although they failed a lot, they did not give up.

In 2004, they finally solved the technical problem of the global optical fiber industry, that is, the use of plasma chemical vapor deposition process and method to produce low-water peak optical fiber, which is widely used in the construction of optical fiber network.

"Now, we can design and manufacture ourselves, and the product categories are more diversified," Luo said. At present, YOFC has mastered three types of optical fiber preform manufacturing technologies and obtained more than 700 domestic and foreign invention patents.

Luo added that he has a sense of accomplishment when every new product developed by his team can be applied in a timely manner to the large-scale construction of the national telecommunications network. After more than 30 years of development, YOFC has successfully transformed from a follower to a leader in the global optical communications industry. The company has become the world's largest supplier of optical fibers, optical cables and optical fiber preforms.

It has a national key laboratory for optical fiber and cable manufacturing technology, and its products and services have covered more than 70 countries and regions around the world. YOFC has also stepped up its expansion in overseas markets and established joint ventures in Indonesia, Myanmar, South Africa and other countries.

China is at the forefront of 5G development and applications. As of mid-November, more than 1.15 million 5G base stations had been built across the country, accounting for more than 70% of the global total, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said. The rapid development of 5G technology has driven the rising demand for optical fibers.

"We shoulder the responsibility and mission of solving technical bottlenecks related to optical fiber. At present, our R&D team has more than 300 people, and the annual R&D expenses account for about 5% of the company's total revenue."

In addition, Luo said that the company is more involved in ITU-T, the telecommunications standardization department of the International Telecommunication Union, which is responsible for formulating new standards and revising existing standards for the global information and communication technology industry.

"ITU-T has about 10 optical fiber standards, and we are currently responsible for 4 standards," Luo said, adding that they have increased the right to make international standards for the optical fiber and cable industry.

At present, Mr. Luo devotes more time to the research of cutting-edge technologies in the optical fiber and cable industry and the learning of the development process of optical communication networks to provide young engineers with more help and guidance.