As the global market for structured cabling reaches $7 billion, EC examines the latest report from BSRIA. Even given the striking regional disparities, it is an industry in ascendency.
The world market for structured cable is expanding, with fibre components rocketing up by 9% per annum and many former “Third World” nations catching up with the mighty west. These are the highlights of a study from BSRIA, revealing a 4% hike for the market overall, to the value of $8 billion in 2003.

The market remains dominated by the US, with a 56% share, although growth has slowed to 3-4% per annum, with most Fortune 1000 companies having now completed large cabling projects.

All told, the best growth opportunities are in the Far East, especially India, China and the Middle East, assuming the oil prices remain at current levels or higher. Greece, as a result of the Olympics in 2004, is expected to grow “significantly” and Brazil is now showing “great potential”.

A feature of the North American market is that plenum accounts for three-quarters of copper cable and half of all fibre shipments. This is higher than the rest of the world where plenum is negligible as it is perceived as too expensive.

LSZH or pvc?

Some countries, primarily in Western Europe will opt for low smoke zero halogen (lszh) cable which is priced at 10-20% higher than pvc cable. The uptake of lszh is highest in countries which opt for shielded solutions such as Switzerland, Germany and France, where the price differential to pvc is less significant, says the report.

Meanwhile, utp (unshielded twisted pair) remains dominant as the controlling horizontal cable worldwide. Growth is said to be slow at 4% per annum with the US market accounting for 59% of world utp cable.

STP (shielded twisted pair), on the other hand, is losing share in most countries, although it is growing by 6.3% per annum. This paradox is explained by Germany alone accounting for 58% of the world STP/PiMF market by volume and here growth is at an “aggressive” 11% per annum.

Demand for high performance cable is increasing and most international suppliers are now actively promoting proposed Category 6 solutions. BSRIA reports that the future seems less certain for proposed Category 7 solutions due to issues relating to new connectors and field testers.

For FTP (foil twisted pair) technology, Germany is also very strong, with a 43% share of the world market followed by France at 15% and the UK at 14%. SFTP (shielded foil twisted pair) accounts for 56% of the German market by volume and is anticipated to increase by 5-6% per annum compared to 11% for STP/PiMF.

Branded or mix and match?

Approximately half the world market is for branded end-to-end systems with the other half being mix and match solutions. The preferred option varies considerably from country to country. BSRIA reveals how 30% of the Australian market is for branded end-to-end systems, while the share in China is 86%.

But branded end-to-end systems are not available in Israel, with the majority of contractors buying from manufacturers or importing directly from “countries like Taiwan”.

The majority of copper installations are undertaken with high quality PiMF cable whereas the components are often “cheap Taiwanese imports”.

The report stresses how the world market for branded end-to-end solutions is concentrated, with just two companies, Lucent Technologies and AMP (Tyco Electronics) accounting for 40-45% and another eight accounting for a further 35-40%.

BSRIA concludes that overall, 18 companies control over 90% of the world cable market and 17 control over 90% of the world component market, both of the mix and match market respectively.

Product arrivals

Rittal’s 42U RiPatch Patching Frame for CAT 5, CAT 5E and CAT 6 applications, is now being distributed by networking and cabling specialist, Anixter. The “space saving, high density” frame has been designed to safely and efficiently optimise available space for copper and fibre cables. Avo International has launched a range of products for testing installed structured wiring and other local area network cabling. It claims the Megger Comms Tester group will succeed in offering installers “the right instrument at the right price.” A new line-up of fibre optic accessories has been introduced by Wiremold Communications Systems. These are now available via UK datacomms distributors. Responding to the need for voice, data and video use in the office, Molex Premise Networks has launched Quadplate, a four port fixed wall plate. It is an economic alternative to the modular system by eliminating the need for separate components as only one is required. The Siemon Company claims to have “expanded the boundaries of copper cabling” with its new Tera-Max 16 and 24-way modular patch panels. The panels are manufactured from steel and feature an anodised surface finish with port outlet numbers etched in black. Alcatel and Gore says it has demonstrated for the first time, serial 10 Gb/s transmission across 62·5 mm fiber with an 85 nm VCSEL. To date, 10 Gb/s transmission has only been demonstrated across 50 mm multimode fibres.