Hengtong's Zhang Jianfeng: Full-Chain Independent Innovation Paves the Way for AI Optical Networks

C114 News, September 11 special report (Jiang Junmu) — The 27th China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE) opened in Shenzhen on September 9. This year's show set new records, with 320,000 square meters of exhibition space and more than 4,000 exhibitors from over 30 countries and regions worldwide. The bustling crowds on site made it clear that the optical communications industry is riding an unprecedented boom. The most striking change in the halls was that optical fiber and cable stepped into the spotlight, becoming the "star" of exhibitor displays, panel discussions and visitor attention.

As a global leader in optical communications, Hengtong Optic-Electric has long been a focus of attention both inside and outside the industry. This time, under the theme "Fibers Link Mountains and Seas, Intelligence Opens the Future," it presented a full-chain portfolio of independent innovation achievements spanning specialty optical fiber, computing-power optical interconnects, industrial all-optical networks and automotive optical communications. During the event, Zhang Jianfeng, director and president of Hengtong Optic-Electric, gave an exclusive interview to C114, offering an in-depth look at the company's strategic layout, technology depth and industry responsibility in light of the current shifts and trends in the industry.

From the "telecom cycle" to the "computing cycle": a shift in fiber's underlying logic

Since the end of 2025, the optical fiber market has seen both volumes and prices rise, with momentum exceeding most expectations.

On one side, demand is climbing steadily amid the AI computing infrastructure boom. Intelligent computing centers generate "multiples of demand" for high-density connectivity and transmission media. Corning has stated publicly on multiple occasions that AI data centers can use more than 10 times as much optical fiber as traditional data centers, while J.P. Morgan forecasts that AI data centers need about 36 times as much fiber as traditional CPU racks. CRU estimates that the global supply-demand gap for optical fiber cable will reach 180 million fiber-km in 2026, a shortfall of about 16.4%.

On the other, prices for multiple fiber types have posted historic gains. Spot prices for G.652.D single-mode fiber have surged from RMB 20 per fiber-km in 2025 to around RMB 100 per fiber-km in July 2026, with some high-priced orders exceeding RMB 110; G.657.A2 fiber for AI data centers has risen from RMB 32 to RMB 240 per fiber-km in a single year, a jump of 650%. In September, China Mobile's 2026-2027 bulk procurement of standard optical cable concluded, with the average price for standard cable working out to RMB 102.56 per fiber-km (excluding tax), up 90.46% from the previous tender and setting a multi-year high.

Zhang Jianfeng described this market upswing as "an opportunity brought by the times," with its core driver shifting from traditional fiber-to-the-home and 5G buildout to optical interconnects in AI compute centers. On the sustainability of the market, he offered a cautious assessment: the expansion cycle of existing players will determine how long this boom lasts. New entrants need more than 20 months to go "from 0 to 1," while existing production lines need at least 10 months to go "from 1 to 2," with capacity additions expected in the second half of 2027.

According to C114, order backlogs at major manufacturers generally extend beyond a year, while Hengtong is reallocating capacity across its global manufacturing bases to ease delivery pressure. The deeper shift this reflects is that optical fiber and cable has moved from a "buy as needed" ancillary product to a strategic material on par with GPUs.

From Single Products to System Solutions: Full-Chain Capabilities Build Competitive Advantage

Hengtong Optic-Electric's presentation at this year's CIOE reflected a clear strategic transformation: extending from conventional communications fiber into a specialty fiber portfolio, evolving from single products to system solutions, and expanding from communications into industrial and automotive scenarios.

In specialty fiber, Hengtong presented three industry benchmark products: BoneCom® ultra-low-loss, large-effective-area single-mode fiber G.654.E, with attenuation now below 0.144 dB/km at 1550 nm, making it an ideal medium for 400G/800G and faster optical transmission networks; polarization-maintaining fiber for CPO/NPO, delivering best-in-class performance with crosstalk ≤ -30 dB over 100 m and a beat length ≤ 4.0 mm to ensure highly stable light-source transmission, filling a gap in the domestic industrialization of high-end CPO polarization-maintaining fiber and carrying clear strategic value as silicon photonics integration and CPO co-packaged architectures advance rapidly; and hollow-core anti-resonant fiber with attenuation below 0.036 dB/km and latency 33% lower than conventional solid-core fiber, reaching world-leading levels and already available for volume delivery.

In hollow-core fiber, Hengtong has partnered with China Unicom to build the country's first 400G provincial backbone line and won the bid for China Telecom's Western Information Center project, taking an early lead in real-world deployment. In the interview, Zhang Jianfeng noted that in terms of technical performance, hollow-core fiber offers generational advantages over conventional solid-core fiber in transmission latency and nonlinear-effect suppression, but moving from live-network validation to large-scale commercialization still requires clearing two hurdles: standards and cost. He expects that over the next three to five years, as standards mature and mass production drives costs down, hollow-core fiber could become the mainstream product for backbone transmission and data center interconnection.

Building on its product strengths, Hengtong has developed a portfolio of scenario-based solutions. Its data center optical interconnect solution includes specialty fiber products such as hollow-core fiber, multi-core fiber and G.654.E, fully addressing networking needs at every level of compute centers and supporting carriers in building compute networks. It also focuses on core high-speed interconnect hardware, offering a full range of 400G/800G high-speed pluggable optical modules and active optical cables (AOCs), covering multiple technology choices and interconnect scenarios to meet the needs of AI compute cluster development.

The high-density solution for intelligent compute centers covers all campus and short-reach rack interconnect scenarios. It uses the industry-leading commercially available 6912-core ultra-high-density optical cable and 1U 6912-core high-density patch panel, paired with 128-core SN-MT premium connectors and Hengtong's self-developed Fiber Armor integrated optical cable solution. Emphasizing compactness, high density, easy cabling and low latency, it can greatly simplify rack cabling architecture and improve data center space utilization. Zhang Jianfeng told C114 that high-density connectors are still constrained by overseas supply, and Hengtong is accelerating R&D of high-density connectors based on its own standards, aiming for a domestic breakthrough in this field and to mitigate supply chain risks.

In its R&D system, Hengtong follows a three-tier progression of "industrializing one generation, reserving one generation, and pre-researching one generation," with layered planning aligned to market demand and long-term forecasts to keep product iteration in step with the market.

From Communications to Industrial and Automotive: Exploring New Growth Frontiers for Optical Networks

Beyond AI compute, Hengtong Optic-Electric is extending fiber applications into two new scenarios—industrial manufacturing and smart vehicles—another major highlight of its booth.

Among them, the TSN-PON 10-gigabit factory passive optical network solution targets industrial manufacturing, using a convergence of conventional PON and TSN-PON products to build an integrated optical foundation for the factory. A single fiber network unifies production, security and office networks, carrying diverse services including MES, AI quality inspection, video surveillance, sensors, industrial control and smart office. Network bandwidth can smoothly evolve from 10G to 100G, with latency as low as 10us. Compatible with multiple industrial protocols, it offers wide-temperature operation, interference resistance, dual-transmit selective-receive and zero service interruption—delivering "build once, worry-free for 30 years" and enabling efficient deployment of Industry 4.0 smart factories.

Zhang Jianfeng believes that after fiber to the home and fiber to the desk, the next few years will see a shift to fiber to the factory and fiber to the machine. Hengtong's industrial communication services already serve more than 100 enterprises. Notably, Hengtong itself is the world's first "lighthouse factory" in the optical communications industry. Its experience in improving energy efficiency, productivity and first-pass yield has been distilled into solutions offered externally. "Only by having it ourselves first can we empower more enterprises."

For smart vehicles, Hengtong presented its in-vehicle optical communication architecture and full-stack solution for smart cars, showcasing a full series of automotive-grade in-vehicle optical modules and a matrix of high-speed in-vehicle optical cable products. Exhibits included miniaturized in-vehicle optical engines and highly flexible, bend-resistant in-vehicle optical fiber harnesses, enabling high-speed connectivity for HD cameras and radar, supporting 4K/8K ultra-HD in-vehicle displays, and enabling the large-scale deployment of L4/L5 advanced autonomous driving and next-generation in-vehicle entertainment systems. The all-optical in-vehicle communication foundation is compatible with next-generation in-vehicle satellite communication architectures, meeting the needs of high-speed in-vehicle networking across multiple service scenarios.

Zhang Jianfeng told C114 that in-vehicle optical communication is the "last mile of bringing fiber into cars." Hengtong has signed strategic cooperation agreements with three leading domestic automakers to jointly develop in-vehicle optical fiber communication solutions. Two premium vehicle models will adopt Hengtong products in the second half of this year, with both transmission speed and stability superior to conventional solutions. In terms of market potential, partners estimate demand on the order of millions of vehicles.

Discussing Hengtong Optic-Electric's strategic focus for the next stage, he summarized it with three key phrases: "strengthen the chain, fill the gaps, extend the chain." Focusing on AI, the company will continue to deepen its products and solutions on the foundation of its comprehensive all-optical foundation and all-optical network capabilities, better serving the upgraded demands of the AI era and bringing "intelligence" into millions of households and every industry.

From "information pipeline" to "computing power foundation," from "connecting people to people" to "connecting GPU to GPU," the optical communications industry stands at the threshold of a value reassessment. Hengtong, meanwhile, is laying a path of certainty for the AI era through full-chain independent innovation. "Fiber Links Mountains and Seas, Intelligence Illuminates the Future" — these eight words capture a global optical communications leader's exploration of the boundaries of technology and industry, and reveal its profound understanding of its mission in the AI era. A new story has only just begun, and the future is worth looking forward to!