How big is this optical fibre cable (OFC<\/a>) testing segment\/market in India?<\/strong>
India is the second most populated country in the world. A country this big with so many people needs vast internet coverage. The government has also started many projects to take internet connectivity to inaccessible parts of the country. This needs a robust optical fiber network and owing to this, the OFC testing market has been growing at a fast pace since the last few years. As per the India fiber optic testing equipment Market- Industry Analysis and forecast (2021-2027), India's market size was valued at US$ 25.06 million in 2020 and the revenue is expected to grow at 8.2% through 2021 to 2027, reaching nearly US$ 43.51 million by 2027. Not only the testing segment, the India optical fiber and accessories market size is projected to reach $1.66 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 17.2% from 2019 to 2026.
Who are your top competitors? What is your market share\/positioning in India?<\/strong>
Star Group doesn’t consider anyone as its competitor in the Indian market as the company belongs to a different league altogether in comparison to dealers and distributors of foreign companies in India. With more than 20 years of OFC field experience and vast IT knowledge behind us, Star Group feels honoured to be a partner in the growth of our country. However, we do feel the heat sometimes from distributors of Japanese and Chinese suppliers in India. As far as positioning of Star Group in the country is concerned, the company holds over 25% market share in India and also supplies its products in the markets in Africa, USA, Middle East and rest of Asia.
What is your product portfolio roadmap?<\/strong>
Our fiber splicing and fiber optics network testing products are designed to perform and engineered to last long. We provide next-generation smart engineering solutions for our industry while considering future needs and adding advantage to the businesses of our buyers. In the coming years, the company would produce new cost-effective next-gen versions of fiber optical fusion splicers, optical meters, FTTx specialized products & low cost OTDR’s with the trending market needs and features. Our recently launched Star FFS-7000 and FFS-3000 splicing machines are doing excellent service in the market and are being appreciated by the government, defence forces and corporate users for their superior performance and remote support abilities.
Airtel-owned Telesonic<\/a> has recently procured machines from us, and are extremely happy with the kind of services and trouble-free operations that we are able to cater to their field teams to achieve customer connectivity very effectively.
What is your production capacity?<\/strong>
The company is an OEM registered with NSIC<\/a>, MSME, GEM and TEC (DoT<\/a>) and is having an ISO 9001:2015 assembly-cum-manufacturing facility located in Delhi. Our present production capability is about 5,000 units of each type of equipment that we make and we are constantly working to increase the same to catch up with the ever-increasing demand.
Given the government’s ambition of Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India), what are the challenges that companies like yours face?<\/strong>
With more than 50% of localisation of the products, we are one of the leaders in this industry, promoting the ‘Make in India’ campaign along with providing job opportunities to numerous deserving candidates. We are constantly developing domestic suppliers and sourcing material locally to contribute to the vision and mission of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative. The biggest challenge facing the OFC industry today is the lack of skilled manpower in the country. This leads to production of low-quality products, with high costs involved in their manufacturing. Another major challenge is the shortage of hardware manufacturing facilities in the country. And it becomes difficult for the manufacturers of OFC testing products to integrate local software on imported hardware.
How do you see OFC demand in the next two years on the back of 5G services?<\/strong>
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services in India at the India Mobile Congress (IMC<\/a>) in New Delhi on October 1. Keeping in mind the vast internet subscriber base in rural parts of India, optical fiber would prove vital to successfully launch 5G services in the country. India which currently has fiberisation at around 35.11% needs to cover more than 35 lakh kilometres with fibre across the country till FY2025 to enable seamless 5G connectivity. Owing to this, I think the demand and growth for fiber-based services and fiber optic equipment is going to double or even more than that in the next two years.
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