LS Cable & System's staff is inspecting preform, an optical cable material.

The start and meaning of the project

France has been maintaining the low-speed communication networks installed all over the countryside until recently. In 2010, the French government announced the Plan France Très Haut Débit (P.F.T.H.D.) project to replace its national communication networks with high-speed optical cable communication networks in order to respond to the rapidly increasing data traffic.

The goal of the P.F.T.H.D. project is to build an FTTH (Fibre to the Home, connecting optical cables to homes) communication network throughout France by 2025. The scale of the project is €20 billion.

LS Cable & System has been participating in this project and supplying optical cables since 2017. It is successfully leading the project based on communication through a new local subsidiary, timely delivery through a Polish plant, and competitive selling prices.

Proving the quality of LS Cable & System products

The biggest challenge in the early stage of the project was to persuade customers who prefer European products. Conservative communication service providers in France found it burdensome to allow an unverified supplier to participate in the project. Manufacturing products in accordance with the XPC certification standards, stipulated by the Standards Organization of France (AFNOR), was another obstacle.

To dispel the anxiety, LS Cable & System invited customers to the plant, and conducted the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT). Customers could confirm firsthand that LS Cable & System has sufficient materials, devices and parts for manufacturing products. It acquired the XPC certification through an accredited European testing laboratory.

Micro unit cable

Establishing a subsidiary for closely monitored operation

LS Cable & System proved the quality of its products after a great deal of effort, but to efficiently supply products to the French market, it had to overcome the barrier of time difference. It was difficult to respond to customer needs in a timely manner from Korea, about 9,000km away from France. In particular, during the P.F.T.H.D. project, it was difficult to meet the deadline as customers were scattered all over France.

LS Cable & System established a sales subsidiary, LSCF, in the suburbs of Paris in April 2017, and quickly solved the problem of local communication. LSCF was quick in identifying local requirements and ensured that cables are supplied at the right time.

Securing a production base in mainland Europe

It was not easy to respond to the P.F.T.H.D. project with the Asian production base alone. It took at least ten days from production to supply. To be more aggressive in the European market where demands for optical cables are growing fast, LS Cable & System established LSCP, a production subsidiary, in Poland in 2019.

LSCP supplied products without a hitch to respond to emergency orders that the Asian production base could not handle. Based on its geopolitical advantages, LS Cable & System could have the same level of delivery response as local competitors. LSCP's production capacity gradually increased, and it is now producing more than 2/3 of the quantities supplied to the P.F.T.H.D. project.

Beyond COVID-19

Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 in early 2020, the P.F.T.H.D. project was suspended across the country. All optical cable construction was suspended, but the French sales subsidiary and the headquarters communicated with customers frequently, and made strenuous efforts to keep track of the local situation. As part of the construction resumed, LS Cable & System delivered the urgently needed quantities through LSCP, and from September 2020 when the construction resumed in earnest, it could win the contract by responding more quickly than local suppliers.

Europe has a long history of Internet networks and the old communication cables (which need to be replaced in the near future) are installed everywhere. Also, demands for optical cables are continuously increasing with the commercialization of the 5G communication technology.

LSCP, which has grown by using the French project as a stepping stone, has a production capacity that can meet 7% of the total European demands. LS Cable & System is planning to capitalize on its European production and sales base to expand the market.