AMANDA SPRINGMANN ULTRA-THIN FIBRE
THE CASE FOR 160µm FIBRE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ROLLOUTS AND DATA CENTRES In short, 160µm bend-insensitive fibre opens the door to record-setting cable density and further miniaturisation for constrained environments, bringing advantages in several key areas. • Sustainability: smaller designs reduce polymer usage and can reduce transport/logistics footprint; Prysmian’s published “smaller + recycled materials” concepts show quantified plastic and CO₂ benefits. • Access network rollouts: duct congestion makes reduced-diameter cables a practical rollout lever, not a theoretical nice-to-have. • Data centres: ribbon and rollable- ribbon demand is accelerating; high-density indoor systems (and pre- terminated assemblies) are becoming a deployment strategy, but they also stress supply chains across regions.
Prysmian Group Sirocco-HD Cable
of fibres per cable. There are also system- level sustainability gains. Sustainability performance for smaller-diameter fibre network solutions has been quantified, and found the following can be realised: • ~50% reduction in plastic volume • ~31% CO₂ savings for transport • Up to ~70% reduction in reels/drums usage Of course, one of the biggest carbon savings comes from avoiding civil works. For access networks, the dominant footprint frequently comes from construction and rework (blocked ducts, new trenches, extra chambers). Miniaturised, high-density cables help by increasing the likelihood of reusing existing pathways and by enabling microduct or overblow strategies that reduce heavy civils. In this way, microduct cables are a way to unlock network efficiency and help deployments in space- limited environments. DUCT CONGESTION MAKES ‘ULTRA-THIN’ A REAL ADVANTAGE The UK continues to see growth in full- fibre coverage and rollout momentum. In practice, that rollout regularly hits brownfield constraints such as congested ducts, blocked routes, limited chamber space, and the realities of sharing infrastructure. Congestion is a tangible deployment bottleneck, making smaller- diameter or higher-density approaches a lever to increase utilisation of existing pathways. When duct capacity - not fibre count - is the constraint, reducing cable diameter becomes a direct enabler of rollout velocity. This is where 160µm-enabled cable miniaturisation brings considerable benefits: by shrinking the cable footprint, operators can pack more fibres into a given duct size—or keep the same fibre count while gaining headroom to
accommodate bends, pulling forces, and easier routing. The smaller form factor enables more viable microduct bundle configurations when working with tight or congested ducts. Most importantly, it improves the likelihood that new capacity will easily “fit” through legacy duct routes, reducing the risk of surprises on site and helping avoid costly civil works escalation. DESIGNING FOR HIGHER SPEEDS IN A CONSTRAINED, CAPACITY- DRIVEN WORLD AI-driven architectures are pushing higher port speeds and denser optical interconnect. At the same time, there are space restrictions (such as legacy raceways, ducts, and manholes), rising fibre volumes, and the move toward smaller, denser cables and connectors. For indoor or data centre builds, the value proposition is not only density - installation time and risk reduction are also key. As a result, ribbon fibre is an attractive option at the cabling layer because it combines high fibre counts with fast mass fusion splicing. With a rollable-ribbon approach, intermittent bonding can help pack more fibre into a smaller cable footprint. Market analyst CRU Group forecasts data centre optical cable demand as a growing slice of total global optical cable demand for the foreseeable future. There is a shortage in fibre cable markets and the knock-on effects on pricing and delivery schedules, with Europe cited among the regions impacted in prior shortage cycles. As hyperscale data-centre builds and rural broadband programmes pull on the same high- density cable capacity, lead times can tighten globally, and availability can be affected even when local demand has not peaked. It is important to plan ahead right now.
Amanda Springmann, Prysmian Datacenter Business Development Director
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ISSUE 43 | Q1 2026
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