Can you introduce yourself and your role?
I am head of the Digital Infrastructure Division at the Projects Directorate of the European Investment Bank based in Luxembourg. I oversee a team of sector experts involved in sector and technology analysis as well as project appraisal. I also works on the Bank’s business strategy with respect to financing of digital infrastructure…

Can you introduce yourself and your role?

I am head of the Digital Infrastructure Division at the Projects Directorate of the European Investment Bank based in Luxembourg. I oversee a team of sector experts involved in sector and technology analysis as well as project appraisal. I also works on the Bank’s business strategy with respect to financing of digital infrastructure, semiconductors, space, industrial policy and the economics of digital transformation in general. I have also contributed in defining new financial instruments for digital infrastructure and services jointly with European Commission, national promotional banks and private sector. 

You work across the European Union – how does Germany’s investment landscape differ?

Germany is Europe’s largest economy with knowingly many areas of excellence in various sectors of economic activity. As a result on many indicators of performance Germany is in a leading position in Europe, and not only. This has also been achieved by continuous investment in R&D, skills and of course in physical assets. Where Germany is underperforming compared to peers is in digital infrastructure with the result of hindering certain patterns of specialisation and technology adoption in the digital domain which are becoming fundamental for the economy. There is need to catch up in order to be able to fully embrace the trend of digital transformation of all economic activities.

What do you expect to be the biggest developments in investment over the next year or so?

The bulk of investment will still be in the build out of very high capacity digital infrastructure, in particular in areas of low population density and where unit costs are considerably higher. Moreover, there is still large investment need in data security and secure data centres.

What are you most looking forward to at Connected Germany?

The first significant life sector convention in Germany after two years of unwelcome social distancing. Though digital meetings have a large number of benefits, meeting and talking to real people opens up completely different domains of developing and sharing innovative ideas. I am looking forward to meet and discuss with interesting people with innovative ideas.

Welcome Anders. What do you consider to be the most exciting markets for the submarine cable industry right now? 
Across the globe the subsea cable business is booming; entering 2022 the demand for capacity is as insistent as it was in preceding years. We’ve seen advances in technology for the repeatered market facilitating higher fiber count systems, ROADM technology and in some cases Aluminium cables.  Unrepeatered technology continues to be the strong sibling to the active side of the business – already well developed technically, with high fiber count (192) cables in existence for several years now, and a robust mechanical design that is well qualified.  
Different countries and regions require different submarine cable system designs, with festoons and interlinks typically leaning towards more economic passive solutions. This means that in certain regions, such as within Europe, the Caribbean or the Pacific Islands, we see a lot of activity on our side of the business, whilst trans-oceanic demand continues to preoccupy suppliers of repeatered systems. 
Our approach to all aspects of our work, from the manufacturing lines to our customer service, is focused on providing the best experience for the end user &–…

Welcome Anders. What do you consider to be the most exciting markets for the submarine cable industry right now? 

Across the globe the subsea cable business is booming; entering 2022 the demand for capacity is as insistent as it was in preceding years. We’ve seen advances in technology for the repeatered market facilitating higher fiber count systems, ROADM technology and in some cases Aluminium cables.  Unrepeatered technology continues to be the strong sibling to the active side of the business – already well developed technically, with high fiber count (192) cables in existence for several years now, and a robust mechanical design that is well qualified.  

Different countries and regions require different submarine cable system designs, with festoons and interlinks typically leaning towards more economic passive solutions. This means that in certain regions, such as within Europe, the Caribbean or the Pacific Islands, we see a lot of activity on our side of the business, whilst trans-oceanic demand continues to preoccupy suppliers of repeatered systems. 

Our approach to all aspects of our work, from the manufacturing lines to our customer service, is focused on providing the best experience for the end user – this is as important as ever in a busy market, where resource and capability are stretched for many companies. In the subsea industry there are different types of suppliers, those that provide full turnkey solutions, those that focus on active components and transmission, and of course all the different combinations in between. Here at Hexatronic our focus is on what we do best, providing durable and reliable high fiber count cable solutions, and we are happy to partner with marine installers and equipment vendors alike in order to help our customers achieve the end-to-end system they need.

Hexatronic recently launched the Fiber Pod, can you tell us a little more about the idea behind it?

Yes, it is a great initiative from our management team in Sweden; a series of podcasts aimed at sharing insights from around and within the fiber optic industry. In the first episode we heard from Vincent Garnier who is the General Director of the FTTH Council Europe, about the mission to advance  full fiber-based connectivity to the whole of Europe, something which is close to the heart of our business.  

You mention offshore energy, we see Hexatronic continue to participate in the other subsea markets such as power systems and renewable energy, how is this side of the business performing?

Hexatronic has delivered over 5000km of fiber optic cable in the offshore energy market to date. We supply a number of energy utilities with interlinks between countries, as well as solutions for offshore wind farms. Hexatronic have also been contracted recently by a number of power cable manufacturers for deliveries of our integrated fiber optic product in Northern Europe and in the Middle East. Our team continues to drive the offshore energy side of the business in parallel with our successful unrepeatered submarine cable product family. We pride ourselves on designing and manufacturing all our cable to the high standards you would expect from any Swedish supplier. Our approach to all aspects of our work, from the manufacturing lines to our customer service, is focused on providing the best experience for the end user.

Hexatronic’s integrated fiber optic solution for power cables

Sustainability has been key focus for Hexatronic for a number of years now – economically, environmentally, and socially. Can you tell us a little more about what the company’s sustainability goals and initiatives and any key takeaways so far?

In short, we take a holistic approach to sustainable development, we want to contribute to a more sustainable society and know that how we run our company and do business matters. Over the last few years, we have created a Sustainability Roadmap to guide our journey towards sustainability for the coming decade. The roadmap demonstrates our contribution to the UN 17 Global Goals, it outlines Hexatronic Group’s desired position for 2030 and explains the goals, targets and key actions to get us there. Our six priority areas are i) Strong business ethics ii) Low climate impact iii) Social involvement iv) Sustainable supply chain v) Diversity and gender equality, and vi) Good health, safety and working environment. 

Priority areas for Hexatronic’s Sustainability Roadmap

Our business aims to protect the environment for present and future generations by preventing emissions and minimizing the use of resources in our product handling. We also intend to work with contractors and suppliers who share our values when it comes to sustainability and business ethics. And I am proud to say that we see differences as an asset; working with diversity strengthens our expertise and thereby our competitiveness.  We strive to offer an inspiring working environment that contributes to job satisfaction and enjoyment – our workplaces shall be equal, safe and secure. 

A sustainable business needs a quality product at its core, how does Hexatronic fulfil this requirement?

The subsea sea cable industry in particular, is hugely reliant on high quality durable cable products due to harsh nature of the seabed and the requirement for high reliability over prolonged system lifetimes. A robust cable is required to withstand not only the tough underwater environment but also the many forms of external aggression that can exist in its 25+ year life. 

Quality is the single most important feature of Hexatronic products and our technology department works systematically to drive quality-related issues out of our processes.  In terms of submarine products, Hexatronic’s range of cables is based on our extensive experience in cable projects, including design and project management.  We have a very flexible approach to cable supply, which suits a lot of customers especially in these busy times.  From our dedicated manufacturing facility in Hudiksvall, Sweden, we are able to provide smaller lengths of cable for shorter systems, and our team support fast turnaround times for manufacturing and supply, which is critical in an industry where time-to-market is key. Cables can be loaded directly onto a cable ship from our dedicated pier in Hudiksvall, or they can be shipped via a freighter or transported on a lorry.

Hexatronic’s dedicated loading pier in Hudiksvall

We’ve read a lot in the press about the various acquisitions made by Hexatronic over the last year, can you tell us how the business is doing?

In 2021 we saw strong growth, unprecedented margins, and an even stronger order book. Entering  into Q1 2022 the order book was 179% compared to last year. Investments that were made in the UK, Germany and the North America to enable growth, have started to pay off.  On the subsea side there were a couple of new orders in for the English Channel and the Baltic Sea and repeat orders in for Asia and the offshore wind industry.

Hexatronic also completed a number of new acquisitions including, The Fibre Optic Shop, based in Australia, who manufacture fiber optic cabling for telecoms operators and “harsh environments”, and Data Center Systems in the US, who supply complete fiber connectivity system solutions to the data center market, including infrastructure design solutions, installation and managed services, mainly to telecoms, financial and technology companies.

Hexatronic’s subsea team – looking forward to meeting you in person again!

Although there have been plenty of challenges throughout the pandemic, we are fortunate that as a team we have been able to keep working successfully and have managed to deliver all our orders on time and to our customer’s satisfaction.  Travel restrictions made it harder for us to meet with existing and potential clients around the globe, but our company’s reach is wide and we continue to place new contracts on a regular basis.  We have started 2022 positively, with our aim to keep pushing development forwards and to maintain our reputation as easy to do business with, at the forefront of our agenda.

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Executive Biography 

Anders Ljung is the Business Manager Submarine Cable Solutions at Hexatronic in Hudiksvall, Sweden.  Anders holds an MSc in Polymer Mechanics. Anders has been employed for 29 years in the fiber optic cable    industry. More than twenty of these years he was in Ericsson’s organization where he held several managerial  positions within sales, project management and manufacturing of fiber optic submarine cables. When Hexatronic acquired Ericsson’s telecom cable plant in 2013 Anders was employed in his current position with a worldwide responsibility for Hexatronic’s fiber optic submarine cable portfolio.

Today, the UK government has announced the launch of the UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN), an organisation dedicated to expanding innovation in the UK telecoms sector and diversifying the country’s supply chain.
Part of the UKTIN’s role will be to compile a database of both private and public R&D funding, helping to make the UK’s telecoms tech landscape more transparent…

Today, the UK government has announced the launch of the UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN), an organisation dedicated to expanding innovation in the UK telecoms sector and diversifying the country’s supply chain.

Part of the UKTIN’s role will be to compile a database of both private and public R&D funding, helping to make the UK’s telecoms tech landscape more transparent, as well as releasing an annual report on the latest developments. 

From the government announcement, it seems that the UKTIN will be largely focussed on Open RAN, a technology that has long been proposed by the UK government as a way to boost competition within the sector and reduce reliance on single vendors. This focus should come as no real surprise, since the creation of the UKTIN was first proposed last year by the Telecoms Diversification Taskforce, a government body tasked with expanding the UK telecoms sector’s ecosystem. 

The government’s commitment to Open RAN has been steady for some time now. In December last year, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) announced a ‘joint ambition’ alongside the UK’s mobile operators that 35% of the country’s mobile data traffic would be carried over Open RAN architecture by 2030.

To date, however, only Vodafone has deployed Open RAN technology in a live UK network. 

The UKTIN centre will be run by a ‘consortium of organisations with telecoms expertise’, but exactly who this will be has seemingly yet to be determined. As part of the launch announcement, the government has also launched a competition offering up to £10 million for the establishment and management of the new centre. Applicants will submit two bids, one for £5 million and one for £10 million in funding, with the government proceeding with the bid that they feel represents the best value for money.

“The UK Telecoms Innovation Network will be the first port of call for any telecoms company looking to access R&D funding and a matchmaker for firms looking to join forces on cutting-edge projects,” said Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez. “Ultimately this is about making the UK the best place in the world to develop rapid and seamless new technology for the digital networks that will power our economy well into the 21st century.”

The UKTIN is expected to be in operation by the end of the year. 

How will Open RAN shift the dynamics of the UK telecoms industry? Find out from the experts at this year’s inaugural Connected North event and at Connected Britain, the UK’s largest connectivity conference

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