Globetrotter: Smarter Fibre Expeditions by Velocitta India

Globetrotter:

Smarter Fibre Expeditions EDITION 2

From the world's toughest terrains in Jammu & Kashmir to the most biodiverse Amazon rainforests in Latin America, Sterlite Tech's connectivity enablement excellence is on a constant increase, with the aim of setting global benchmarks in terms of quality of service, speed, and innovation. Through brand new challenges, experiences, and accomplishments, this exhilarating yet enriching technological voyage across the globe continues to advance and transform lives. Sharing our transformative experiences!

FROM THE LEADER'S DESK

TRANSFORMATION STORIES

TECHNOLOGY WORLD: HIGH FIBRE COUNT CABLES

PRODUCT INNOVATION AT STERLITE TECH

FACTS & MYTHS ABOUT TELECOM PRODUCTS

VOICE OF CUSTOMER

KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER

KNOW YOUR COLLEAGUE

THE INK SLINGERS

02 | Sterlite Tech | Vol. 2 | Jan 2018

FROM THE LEADER'S DESK Our CEO has set a target to move the company to the next orbit. This would require each of us to closely evaluate our allocation of time and reskill ourselves to grow exponentially. We must be deeply entrenched in our key accounts and become their trusted advisor. Disruptive thinking and, more importantly, disruptive actions will be the norm at Sterlite Tech going forward.

After attending Tech Spark and Sales Connect, I am absolutely convinced that: 1.

We have been presented with a once-in-alife responsibility to transform the lives of citizens around the world–by delivering networks at an unprecedented scale. Sterlite Technologies has all the key resources– team, knowledge, culture, and passion to be successful in this market. No other company in the world possesses the depth of knowledge required to tackle the most complex network challenges–given our unique Silicon to Software capability.

As part of my enhanced role, I will focus on: Ensuring we have deﬁned our KAMs and that our teams have the resources to create disruptive value to the KAMs Work on building 10-year relationships with the KAMs–which will also improve our business predictability Enable discussions and projects among cross-functional teams–for challenging the status quo and generating new ideas Improving the knowledge base of our teams– understanding of 5G, AR/VR, web-scale networks, Edge-computing, SDN/NFV, etc. will be table stakes Increasing the sharing of “value-creation ideas” across our organization

As we have entered the New Year, I am thrilled more than ever for the exciting possibilities it brings. I wish your family and you a wonderful year ahead, ﬁlled with happiness and success! Regards, Ankit Agarwal Director, Telecom Products, Sterlite Tech

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TRANSFORMATION STORIES

CASE STUDY

PPC and Sterlite Tech team up to revolutionise connectivity in the U.S.

PPC is a global leader in connective technology—providing high-speed network solutions using latest technologies, to bring new and enhanced products to the market. As a subsidiary of the networking giant Belden, PPC aligns with Belden’s strategies to offer unique end-to-end solutions to its customers. As the market leader in coax connectors and cable, PPC had a strong business case for launching data cables in their product portfolio. With the increase in OFC penetration for broadband connectivity in the U.S., the need for last mile connectivity on copper has been growing. This led to PPC considering data cables as a product expansion, in conjunction with their strong service-providing capabilities and MSO base in the U.S. market. PPC was looking for a reliable data cable solution provider who would understand the application need and also be able to meet their delivery expectations. Traditionally, PPC had been providing connectivity solutions on co-axial cable and was on the lookout for a manufacturing partner who could develop high-performance data cables for their customer connectivity needs. Data cables being a brand new product offering, it was substantially difficult for PPC to understand the building specifications and international standards. The PPC-Sterlite Tech alliance has proved to be a significant win for this project to reach successful fruition. Partnering with Sterlite Tech enabled PPC to launch the product in a timely and efficient manner, making a difference to the U.S. market and the lives of countless U.S. citizens.

Manish Agarwal Sales Head, GB Kardile Plant Head, Aman Arora Account Manager, Md.Shahid Khan Technical & PLM, and Andrew Kaczmarski Development Head worked relentlessly on successfully driving this project.

A clear vision and united purpose between the senior leadership of the two organisations ensured seizing the opportunity at the right time and developing trust, not only for the task at hand but also for potential avenues in the future. Sterlite Tech assisted PPC with developing speciﬁcations, cable design, development and samples for third-party testing and performance approval. Even though most OEMs stick to certain speciﬁc industry standards, PPC required

Sterlite Tech to build customised data cables that would be first-of-its-kind without any compromise in performance. At the core of this program, PPC needed the end product cables to deliver high-performance download speeds, picture, and voice quality as per the customer requirement, while simultaneously addressing the seamless demand for network capacity in broadband networks. Technically challenging as it was, it also needed close coordination within the Sales and PLM teams, and the customer who was in a different time zone, to ensure proper PPC team mapping at various levels involving deal qualifications, competitor information mapping, sample collections evaluations, multiple report submission, and specifications agreement. A whole new design model, stringent timelines, enhancement of Buncher speed, and uncompromising quality, were a few additional challenges to address. Setting new industry benchmarks, Sterlite Tech developed data cable products with unique technicalities, which not only brought augmented quality but also ensured bridging of various gaps and eliminating redundancies. The accomplishment of a completely new design incorporating improved signal strength, crosstalk performance, signal-tonoise performance, and easier termination, has solved the problem that PPC faced with achieving high-performing networks and download speeds. PPC is proud of its worldwide reputation as a technology leader. Through a successful collaboration between Sterlite Tech and PPC, robust data cables are meeting customer's expectations of LAN connectivity and enabling smooth dayto-day online /network transactions. For Sterlite Tech, this opportunity was the gateway to enter the U.S. market and solidify its data cable capabilities. The task at hand required Sterlite tech to deepen its understanding of the requirements and come up with new products and set industry benchmarks. Through this remarkable milestone, Sterlite Tech has achieved a stomping growth in its data cables business.

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CASE STUDY

Sterlite Tech beats competition & becomes partner of choice for Liquid Telecom FOR STERLITE TECH, THIS WAS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS AS IT MARKED THE WINNING OF A LARGE KEY CUSTOMER OF AFRICA. THE PROJECT, ONCE COMPLETED, WILL STRENGTHEN THE BROADBAND REACH AND TELECOM NETWORKS IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES.

Sumit Sharma, Phill Coppin, Nripendra Nitesh, Kangabam Tenzing and Yogesh Kharade spearheaded this project.

Liquid Telecom is an independent data, voice, and IP provider in eastern, central, and southern Africa. Liquid is operational in 14 African countries and has built the largest independent cross-border fibre network in Africa. The company lays neutral networks for telecom operators and delivers internet services across their operating circles. Sterlite Tech and Liquid Telecom had been partners over the past few years. In fact, Sterlite Tech was one of the two approved OFC suppliers of Liquid Telecom and was a major supplier till 2014. After that, the competition was chosen as the preferred supplier with better pricing and lead time. However, over the past one year, Sterlite Tech strengthened its relationships with both the technical and commercial teams based in Dubai and London. Additionally, the team improved their interactions with local Opcos which enabled them enhance visibility and grab new opportunities. Over the past one year, Sterlite Tech assisted Liquid Telecom in some major and minor projects, some of which others were not ready to cater. The biggest challenge ahead of Sterlite Tech was pricing. The competition's offering was much cheaper as a result of which getting a better price than the previous P.O was difficult. Despite this, the Sterlite Tech team convinced the customer that they are better technological partner, who can not only offer end-to-end products but also address the challenges associated with the overall deployment. The team educated them about the upcoming new technologies and products in the fibre space.

At that juncture, the team could also develop a few new products exclusively for them, which further increased their confidence in our capabilities. As a result, Sterlite Tech was established as a long-term partner to Liquid Telecom to deliver complete back-to-back technical capabilities. Since then, the team won three POs over a period of 2–3 months. The project involving four African Opcos is the biggest among them. For this project, Sterlite Tech also succeeded in getting a 7–8% price increase in the PO compared to the one prior to that, signed just one month back. The new project involved laying neutral network for four African Opcos operating in Botswana, Zambia, Kenya, and Tanzania, as well as supplying additional stock for Dubai which needs to be distributed to two more Opcos later. The Botswana project involved laying new aerial backbone network of an oil & gas company. The Tanzania project aimed at building backbone network of a newly acquired ISP by Liquid Telecom. In Zambia and Kenya, Liquid was looking to upgrade their brown field projects. For Sterlite Tech, this was one of the most significant achievements as it marked the winning of a large key customer of Africa. The project, once completed, will strengthen the broadband reach and telecom networks in the African countries.

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TECHNOLOGY WORLD: HIGH-FIBRE COUNT CABLES Onset of the Zettabyte Era We are fortunate to be witnessing an era in which an estimate of a million minutes of video content will be generated every second, across networks. A staggering 1 Zettabyte of data was consumed globally, by the end of 2016 and a global consumption of 3.34 Zettabytes of data has been estimated, by 2021. The consumption of such enormous chunks of data has led to recent advancements in cloud computing and Big Data-processing technology, resulting in a requirement for highcapacity networks. IoT and its applications like connected cars, AR/VR, machine-learning, and artiﬁcial intelligence are driving the requirement for future-prooﬁng of networks (highcapacity). To improve the quality of experience on a network, data centres are being built closer to the access networks. Capital expenditure done on the data centres by Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft has spiked in the last 10 years .

Capex spend on data centres has grown 30% annually in the last 10 years

Projected to grow at a rate of 15 20% CAGR

Given the trends in data consumption and technology innovations for networks, optical fibre continues to remain the fastest medium to carry this increased data. The densification of 4G network and the advent of 5G networks are further bolstering the demand for fibre. At the same time, fibre will enable wireless technology as it is critical for high-capacity backhaul and future proofing of the network.

Source: McKinsey & Co.

Why High-Fibre Count Cables? To address the demand for greater network capacity, operators have multiple options: Transmitting more data per ﬁbre using dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) technology or increasing bit rates.

Installing more ﬁbre and future-prooﬁng the network by upgrading it for exponentially high capacity.

It is in fact common to see most carriers deploying double or triple the amount of fibre currently needed. They want to leverage rights-of-way to install dark (unused) fibre with the possible intention of leasing it in anticipation of future demand. Example: Prominent CATV customers in India, other customers in Europe, and the Middle-East are looking forward to 1000+ fibre count cables which will initiate a major shift in the operator's mind-set.

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Applications of High-Fibre Count Cables Globally Boston City Built by Verizon The company has been building a 1700 fibre-count cable for Boston city. The Verizon high-density network plan (with high-fibre count cables) will drive demand for fibre in the U.S. Source: CNBC Interview with Lowell Mc Adam and Wendell Weeks, CRU Report Prysmian & Superloop (Hong Kong-Based Carrier) The company has developed a 1,728-fibre undersea cable for providing long-distance and international data-transmission services in the Asia-Pacific region was for a 2.8-km segment of a 110-km metro backbone serving Hong Kong. Source: CRU Report Metro-Build for Zayo Group Zayo's metro markets have high-fibre count cable (sometimes as many as 864 fibres) and, in some cases, multiple spare conduits on the routes. Source: Zayo's Annual Report Data Centre Interconnect This application includes links between data centres and links from data centres to internet nodes, or points-of-presence (POPs). Source: CRU Report Fujikura's High-Fibre Count Cables Fujikura's Spider-Web-Ribbon, Wrapping-Tube Cable are applications which run on cables with high fibre count, demonstrating the significance and practical implementation of high fibre cables Source: CRU Report

Product Development

OFS on Rollable Ribbons & Ultra High-Fibre Count Cables: Ÿ OFS introduced a new series of ribbon-in-loose-tube optical cables incorporating rollable ribbons in early September. Ÿ A 1,728-ﬁbre version can be installed in 1.25-inch duct,

and a 3,456-ﬁbre version can be installed in 2-inch ducts. Ÿ In a July presentation at CRU's Wire and Cable

Conference (in Munich), OFS's Peter Arnoff Nielsen described the new Ultra-High-Count Cables. Ÿ He mentioned that the 3,456-ﬁbre cable was in

qualiﬁcation testing in May. Ÿ He also described a 5,184-ﬁbre cable being developed for

a data-center application. Sumitomo's High-Fibre Count Cables: Ribbon Cables 1152F, 1728F, 3456F Source: Company Website, CRU

Sterlite Tech's FlashFWD 5G-Ready Solutions: Ÿ 1152F and 864F Cables – FlashFWD 5G series: Multi-tube single jacket ribbon optical ﬁbre cable that combines robust performance for duct or direct buried installations, with the productivity of high-count mass fusion splicing.

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Future Prospects Here is why High-Fibre Count Cables work for your customer: Ÿ With a multi-fold increase in ﬁbre

the future. High Fibre Count Cables infrastructure investments estimated serve as the perfect solution! in the next 5 7 years (China: $ 400 Ÿ Ribbon Technology utilised in highbn, US: $130 150 bn, Japan: $ 46 bn, fibre count cables offers better fibre India: $ 60 70 bn (expected), South management and handling Korea: $ 1.5 bn) due to the rise of 5G capabilities for cable-installers. and IoT applications, such as Ÿ Ribbon in loose-tube helps the AR/VR/AI; networks with installer to manage the task of exponentially-upgraded capacity, and accurately identifying hundreds of the new network builds need to be fibre in one-closure. super-efficient in terms of bandwidth and low-latency. Ÿ Since the base unit of fibre grouping is still 12, high-fibre count ribbon Ÿ Given the high ROW costs in most cables can still be incorporated into parts of the world, operators are the existing fibre networks that use looking forward to leveraging ways loose-tube cables. to make digging into the ground more cost-efficient and sustainable for

Challenge with High-Fibre Count Cables Ÿ The only challenge which can be encountered with high-ﬁbre count cables is the

compatibility between the cable sizes and the extensive system of ductwork already in place. Ÿ While the recent advancements in technology advocate the installations of high-

fibre count cables (as high as 864F) can be accommodated in existing 1 to1.25-inch duct systems. Ÿ Operators with greenfield projects are designing networks with maximum flexibility

to deploy and even higher-count cables in future. (I.e. use of larger ducts, singlecable ducts, or no inner ducts in order to maximise potential for future growth.

Special thanks to Sakshi Singh for her contribution

As Sterlite Tech: With operators eager to be the first one to deploy the largest number of fibre count cables, we are already witnessing changes as our customers are holding such demand-centric discussions. We are moving in line with current operators' thought-process of having fibre along the road (CEO, Vodafone India at IMC 2017) and have a vision of building cities with each street having 1000+ fibre count with our recently launched 5G-ready FlashFWD solutions (1152F and 864F).

We talked about how we're building the network in Boston and you should think about that as a blueprint for how we build ﬁbre in other locations. Matt Ellis EVP & CFO, Verizon, Source: Media Article, FierceTelecom

08 | Sterlite Tech | Vol. 2 | Jan 2018

PRODUCT INNOVATION AT STERLITE TECH Customer Problem

+ Conventional Micro Cable

= 10/14 Duct

The standard 192F 8.2 mm ﬁbre count cable has a high-duct ﬁll factor of 67% in a

Solution : Sterlite Tech 192F Bullet Micro Cable

10/14 duct, which exceeds the target of max 60% for optimum blow install. This existing scenario results in the ﬁbre getting stuck in the duct.

Sterlite Tech's latest Sterlite Tech 192F Bullet Micro Cable

What was Needed

has the smallest diameter in the industry. At an optimised weight, it features a modern cable design, standard G657A1 ﬁbre with 242µm coating diameter, 24F x 8 loose tube for optimum cable-packing efﬁciency, next generation loose tube technology special material with industry's smallest

With minimum diameter

Cable-packing efﬁciency

Optimised weight

The need of the hour was to develop a state-of-the-art design for a 192F 8.2 mm ﬁbre count that can optimally blow install into a 10/14 duct.

24F loose tube diameter (1.4mm), UV protection, and optimised blow performance for longer distance (up to 1800 mtrs) in 10/14 duct in Sterlite Tech blow track.

09 | Sterlite Tech | Vol. 2 | Jan 2018

The New Sterlite Tech192F Bullet Micro Cable Features State-of-the-art cable design with a lower diameter

Reduced diameter to 7.6 mm ± 0.2

Standard G657A1 ﬁbre with 242µm coating diameter

Optimised weight = 53 ± 10% kg/km

24F x 8 loose tube for optimum cable-packing efﬁciency

Uv protected

Next generation loose tube technology special material with industry s smallest 24F loose tube diameter (1.4 mm)

Optimised blow performance for longer distance up to 1800 mtrs in 10/14 duct in Sterlite Tech blow track

Customer Problem Solved

+ Sterlite Tech 192F Bullet Micro Cable

10/14 Duct

Special thanks to Phill Coppin and Santosh Akundi for their contributions

10 | Sterlite Tech | Vol. 2 | Jan 2018

FIBRE IS MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE THAN COPPER

FACTS & MYTHS ABOUT TELECOM PRODUCTS

MYTH

Fibre and copper cabling are similar in costs today when the entire network is considered. When the entire network structure is taken into account, fibre can often save money. With fibre, cable runs can be made directly to the desk with no need for additional telecom closets. Fewer pieces of equipment mean less power usage, which means lower long term costs. With higher data rates, fibre cable uses less power to transmit long distances and can be considered more eco-friendly as a result.

FIBRE OPTICS IS GREEN TECHNOLOGY Fibre transmission requires less energy to push signals over long distances, unlike copper and microwave radio modes of transmission. Less energy means less heat and hence less cooling in the data centers. With reduced energy consumptions and fibre transmitting huge volumes of data over long distances , carbon footprints are significantly eliminated. Constructing a fibre transmission link requires fewer materials in the sense that fibre requires less insulation and smaller jacket sizes. Fibre has a longer lifespan than copper cables or microwave radio, and hence, capital investments become less over time.

FACT

FIBRE HAS A HOLE DOWN ITS CENTER

MYTH

Many people think that light travels through a small tunnel in the center of the fibre; actually, the fibre is solid glass. The core glass in the center is surrounded by a cladding glass, which has a lower index of refraction. The two different indices of refraction create a reflective light trap, keeping the light pulses confined to the core glass.

FIBRE OPTICS USE LIGHT There is no electrical current being passed through fibre optic cabling, only light. Because of this, there is no heat, and no heat means no burning and no fire hazards. During normal use, fibre optics is the safest option for data transmission.

FACT

FIBRE DOESN'T SUPPORT WIRELESS

MYTH

Telecommunications companies rely heavily on fibre optic cable to carry wireless telephone signals from the towers to the central network. They choose fibre because of the large bandwidth and long-term compatibility with network equipment. This email you are receiving today was transported through many miles of fibre optic cabling.

FIBRE OPTICS ISN'T INFLUENCED BY WEATHER CONDITIONS No weather conditions affect fibre operations due to the fact that fibre uses light and not electricity. Weather changes like rains and temperature do not have any negative effect on fibre communications. In comparison, microwave communication is greatly affected by bad weather and rains, and hence, the signal quality greatly degrades. With high-quality design, fibre can be laid in water, suspended on poles, or buried in the ground, and can withstand any weather condition without affecting the signal quality.

FACT

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VOICE OF CUSTOMER Vumatel, South Africa

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for everything that you and Sterlite Tech did to make our visit to your country a very wonderful experience. I can't explain how impressed we were by Sterlite Tech and all aspects that we observed at your cabling and glass plants. It was very reassuring to see an environment and culture that values its people so highly and, most importantly, are committed to producing a worldclass product for their customers. It is good to know that the investment we are making is going to be sustainable for the long term. I hope you will keep in touch and let us know when you are back in South Africa for us to show your management team our FTTH network and Sterlite Tech product being put to use. Thank you again and we look forward to working with you and your team on a successful working relationship.

Giorgio & Ewald

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KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER Du Telecom

Who They Are?

What do they do?

Du is a vibrant and multiple award-winning telecommunications service provider serving around 9 million individual customers with its mobile, ﬁxed line, broadband internet, and home services over its 4G LTE network. They are an integrated telecom service provider, dedicated to providing customers the best in choice, quality, innovation, and pricing. Since their launch in 2007, Du has many UAE ﬁrsts to its credit, including introduction of Pay by the Second® billing system, IPTV, and a self-service portal.

Bringing people and businesses together is what they do best through offerings, such as mobile and ﬁxed telephony, broadband connectivity, and IPTV services to people, homes, and businesses all over the UAE. They also provide carrier services, a data hub, internet exchange facilities, and satellite services for broadcasters. Their international and wholesale presence has been on a constant increase fostering their relationship with national and international carriers, and strengthening the roaming relationship with mobile operators worldwide.

Amazing Facts More than 6.5 million mobile customers

Annual revenue now exceeds AED 10 billion

555,000 ﬁxed-line subscribers

Ranked among the top teleports in the world by the World Teleport Association

180,000 home services subscribers

More than 2,000 employees from over 66 Countries

Over 70,000 businesses have chosen to use their services

Du caters to over 100,000 UAE businesses with its vast range of ICT and managed services.

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Vision

Mission

Values

To enhance lives, anytime, anywhere.

To delight their customers, be the employer of choice for the best talent, create optimal value for their shareholders through business excellence and innovation, and proudly contribute to the transformation of the community.

ConďŹ dence | Friendliness | Honesty

Du's competitors

Etisalat

Virgin Mobile

Sterlite Tech and Du Telcom Association One of the largest customers globally Ongoing successful relationship of over 6 years

Sterlite Tech Products team has supplied over 1.3 million FKM OFC Sterlite Tech software has enabled Du to roll out public Wi-Fi and ofďŹ&#x201A;oad services through Wi-Fi, SMP, and monetisation solution across Dubai's public venue.

Recently, Sterlite Tech Product team introduced two major changes in the 144 duct cable which helped Du with faster time to the market. Both Products and Software teams have been appreciated on creating customer delight by understanding the problem areas.

Sterlite Tech aspires to strengthen this association by becoming an end-to-end solution provider for Du

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KNOW YOUR COLLEAGUE

Coolest thing you've worked on: Making a case competition at my MBA program

Marie Graver

If you could choose an age to remain forever, which age would you choose? 29

Describe yourself in 3 words: Funny, blunt, motivated

Passion that drives you crazy: Music

Superpower you would like to have: To be able to ďŹ&#x201A;y

Movie title for your life: Making the most of life

Whom you would like to be for day: Kendall Jenner

Would you rather be invisible or be able to read minds? Read minds Secret talent: Perfect pitch (hearing not singing)

Any strange phobias? Clowns and spiders

How would you spend 1 million dollars? Investing to make it 20 million dollars

Dream/Far out Destination: New Zealand

15 | Sterlite Tech | Vol. 2 | Jan 2018

THE INK SLINGERS Editor Akanksha Roy, International Marketing

Special thanks to:

A commerce graduate from Pune University, she has dipped her feet in both sales and marketing. Fun loving, amiable, and a daydreamer this mix describes her the best. You will ﬁnd her beaming with joy at a beach.

Aman Arora International Stories

Sumit Sharma

Editor

International Stories

Romit De

Sakshi Singh

A post graduate in business administration from Kolkata, Romit has been on the corporate road for about 7 years now. After spending 6 years in consulting services, he is now enjoying his stint with Sterlite Tech. Buddhism, travelling, and playing the guitar are things he is deeply passionate about.

Technology World

Phill Coppin, Santosh Akundi Product Innovation at Sterlite Tech

Conceptualisation & Design

Marie Graver

Swapnil Khapekar, International Marketing

Know your Colleague

Swapnil is a post graduate in business administration. At ofﬁce, he is best known as a workaholic and in personal life as football fanatic. He is a person who is always in pursuit of peace.

To contribute, write to the editorial team.