The ODF (Optical Distribution Frame) is a passive communication device that plays a core role in fiber-optic communication systems.

R&D Technology, Application Scenarios, Production Capabilities, Sales Volume and Inventory of ODF Products by Hangzhou Jinlong Optic-electric Co., Ltd.

As a specialized, refined, distinctive and high-tech enterprise in the optical communication field, Hangzhou Jinlong Optoelectronics extends its core optical cable technologies to ODF (Optical Distribution Frame) related businesses. The following is a detailed description from five dimensions: R&D technology, application scenarios, production capabilities, sales volume and inventory:

1. R&D Technology

The company’s R&D strength is supported by both a professional team and patented technologies. It has long engaged optical communication experts enjoying special government allowances from the State Council to provide technical support, and owns 29 patents and 1 software copyright. Technically, it can leverage the pressure-resistant and protective technologies in the optical cable field to enhance ODF adaptability. For example, the independently developed C-shaped skeleton optical cable structure allows internal fibers to move within limits, forming a buffer when subjected to external forces. This design concept can be migrated to the internal fusion splicing tray and optical cable interface structure of ODF, reducing stress damage to fibers inside the distribution frame. Meanwhile, the ODF is compatible with various mainstream fiber types, including G652D, G657A1 and other conventional single-mode fibers as well as special fibers produced by the company itself, ensuring low-loss transmission when the ODF is used with fibers. Each fiber core’s loss is tested and recorded before delivery to improve link stability.

2. Application Scenarios

The core application scenarios meet the optical fiber cabling needs of communication operators, government departments and enterprises. In the core computer rooms and regional computer rooms of China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom (the three major telecom operators), it is used for the convergence management of long-distance and local network optical cables, adapting to the large-scale fiber scheduling needs of operators. It is also suitable for the weak current rooms of data centers and enterprise parks, providing organized management of fiber lines for servers, switches and other equipment to ensure the stable transmission of voice, data and other services. In addition, relying on the Qualification Certificate for Accessing Equipment and Materials of National Defense Communication Networks, its ODF can be supporting used for fiber distribution in computer rooms related to national defense communication. At the same time, it can meet the needs of optical cable termination splicing and optical path adjustment in cable TV networks, aligning with the supporting scenarios of its own cable TV cable business.

3. Production Capabilities

The company has complete production hardware and qualification guarantees, including 8 optical fiber drawing production lines, 12 SZ stranding equipment and many other professional devices, with an annual production capacity of 10 million fiber cores of optical cables, which can provide sufficient supporting optical cable resources for ODF production. It has obtained multiple certifications such as ISO9001, ISO14001 and TL9000, and the ODF-related production processes can reuse the strict quality control standards of existing optical communication products. In addition, its products have passed the access certification of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, with a mature production system that can realize the coordinated large-scale production of ODF and optical cables, meeting the integrated supply needs from fibers to distribution frames in different scenarios. The products also comply with international standards, laying a foundation for export.

4. Sales Volume

The sales channels cover the domestic government-enterprise market and overseas markets. Domestically, it has long-term cooperation with the three major operators such as China Mobile and China Unicom, and has repeatedly won bids for optical cable procurement projects of enterprises including Cixi Digital TV and Zhejiang Xiangrong Digital Technology. ODF can be supplied to these cooperative customers as supporting products. Overseas, its optical cable products have been exported to many countries, and ODF can enter overseas communication markets such as Singapore and Russia along with optical cable products by virtue of supporting advantages. Although there is no separate public data on ODF sales volume, relying on the annual production capacity of 10 million fiber-kilometers of optical fibers and 10 million fiber cores of optical cables, its ODF sales volume can match the bulk procurement needs of downstream customers. The company further expands its sales share by participating in various international communication exhibitions.

5. Inventory

There is no separate public data on ODF inventory, but it is speculated that the company adopts a flexible inventory strategy aligned with market demand. On one hand, for long-term and stable customers such as the three major domestic operators, it reserves inventory of ODF with corresponding conventional specifications to ensure rapid order delivery. On the other hand, for overseas and customized needs, it coordinates the procurement and inventory rhythm through its affiliated import and export company. At the same time, the company improves the industrial chain layout by holding shares in subsidiaries, and can adjust inventory through upstream and downstream coordination to reduce inventory backlogs caused by lack of accessories. It also dynamically adjusts inventory according to the winning status of bidding projects to adapt to phased procurement peaks.

Content, Development Fields and Significance of the ODF Optical Distribution Frame

The ODF (Optical Distribution Frame) is a passive communication device that plays a core role in fiber-optic communication systems. As a key infrastructure component in modern information networks, it undertakes the critical task of connecting, managing and scheduling optical fiber links, and its value runs through the entire life cycle of optical communication network construction, operation and maintenance.

I. Core Content of the Product

The ODF optical distribution frame is a specialized device designed for the termination, distribution, scheduling and protection of optical fibers in communication systems. Its core composition and functional positioning can be broken down into the following dimensions:

1. Hardware Component System

The ODF is composed of multiple functional modules, each of which undertakes a specific role in the optical fiber management process:

- Fiber Fusion Splicing Unit: This is the core part for realizing the physical connection of optical fibers. It includes fusion splicing trays (usually made of flame-retardant engineering plastics) that provide a stable environment for the fusion splicing of outdoor optical cable cores and indoor pigtails. Each tray can accommodate 12 to 24 fiber splices, and is equipped with fiber protection sleeves to reduce signal loss caused by bending or external forces.

- Adapter Panel: As the interface between the ODF and external optical devices (such as optical transceivers, optical splitters), it integrates multiple optical adapters (common types include SC, FC, LC, etc.). Different adapter types correspond to different application scenarios: for example, SC adapters are widely used in data centers due to their plug-and-play convenience, while FC adapters are more common in communication rooms that require high connection stability.

- Cable Management Structure: Including fiber routing slots, cable ties and guide rails, it is used to organize the routing of pigtails and trunk fibers, avoid fiber tangles or excessive bending (the minimum bending radius of optical fibers is usually 10-15 times the fiber diameter), and ensure the stability of optical signal transmission.

- Rack Main Body: Most ODFs adopt a 19-inch standard cabinet size, which is compatible with the installation specifications of communication equipment rooms, and can be installed in standard server racks or cabinet systems to save space. According to the number of fiber cores, ODFs are divided into different specifications such as 12-core, 24-core, 48-core, 72-core, 144-core and even 288-core to meet the needs of different scale networks.

2. Functional Positioning

The ODF acts as a "transfer hub" in the optical fiber communication link: on one hand, it terminates the outdoor trunk optical cables (usually containing dozens or hundreds of fiber cores), and on the other hand, it connects to indoor optical communication devices (such as optical switches, optical transceivers) through pigtails. Through the ODF, operators can flexibly schedule optical fiber links (such as adjusting the connection relationship between different optical cables), quickly locate and repair faults in optical fiber lines, and realize centralized management of optical fiber resources.

II. Development Fields of the ODF

With the rapid development of digital technologies such as 5G, cloud computing, and the Industrial Internet, the application scenarios of ODFs are constantly expanding, and the product form is also iterating in response to new demands:

1. Data Center Field

In the context of the explosive growth of data traffic, large-scale data centers (especially hyper-scale data centers) have put forward higher requirements for the density and efficiency of optical fiber deployment. The ODFs applied in this field are developing in the direction of "high density, modularization and intelligence":

- High-density Design: Traditional ODFs usually support 72-144 cores per unit, while the latest high-density ODFs can achieve 432 cores or more in the same 19-inch rack space, which greatly saves the limited machine room space of data centers.

- Modularization: The ODF is divided into independent functional modules (such as fusion splicing modules, adapter modules), which can be flexibly combined according to the actual number of fiber cores, reducing the cost of idle resources.

- Intelligence: Some high-end ODFs are equipped with fiber optic link monitoring modules, which can real-time monitor the connection status, signal loss and other parameters of optical fibers, and realize remote fault warning through the network management system, which improves the efficiency of data center operation and maintenance.

2. FTTx (Fiber to the x) Field

FTTx (including FTTH (Fiber to the Home), FTTO (Fiber to the Office), etc.) is the core network form of the "Broadband China" strategy, and the ODF plays an important role in the end of the fiber access network:

- Miniaturization and Wall-mounted Design: Unlike the large-scale ODFs in communication rooms, the ODFs used in FTTx scenarios are usually small (such as 12-core or 24-core) and wall-mounted, which can be installed in small spaces such as community machine rooms, building weak current rooms or even user families.

- Integration with Optical Splitters: In order to adapt to the passive optical network (PON) architecture of FTTx, some ODFs integrate optical splitters, which can directly realize the splitting of optical signals while completing fiber termination, simplifying the network structure of the access layer.

3. Industrial Communication Field

With the rise of the Industrial Internet and smart grids, the demand for high-speed and stable communication in industrial scenarios is increasing, and the industrial-grade ODF has gradually emerged:

- Environmental Adaptability: Industrial-grade ODFs need to adapt to harsh working environments, such as high and low temperature resistance (-40°C to 85°C), dustproof, waterproof (meeting IP65 protection level) and anti-electromagnetic interference, so as to ensure the stable operation of optical fiber links in factories, power stations and other scenes.

- Anti-vibration and Anti-corrosion: The industrial environment usually has strong vibration and corrosive gas, so the industrial-grade ODF adopts high-strength metal materials (such as 304 stainless steel) and reinforced structural design to improve the durability of the equipment.

4. Marine and Aerospace Communication Fields

In special communication scenarios such as marine and aerospace, ODFs also show unique application value:

- Marine Communication: Marine optical communication systems need to resist the corrosion of salt spray and the impact of waves, so the marine ODF adopts a fully sealed structure and anti-salt spray coating to ensure the reliability of optical fiber connections in the marine environment.

- Aerospace Communication: The ODF used in aerospace scenarios needs to meet the requirements of lightweight, high reliability and radiation resistance, and is mainly used in the optical communication links of satellites, space stations and other equipment.

III. Significance of the ODF Optical Distribution Frame

As a basic device in the optical communication industry, the ODF has important significance in the construction of information infrastructure, the development of the communication industry and the promotion of digital economy:

1. Significance in Network Infrastructure Construction

- Guarantee the Orderliness of Optical Fiber Networks: In a large-scale optical communication network, the number of optical fibers can reach tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands. Without the ODF, the optical fibers will be in a chaotic state, which will bring great difficulties to the deployment, maintenance and management of the network. The ODF realizes the centralized management of optical fibers, makes the routing of optical fibers clear and traceable, and greatly improves the efficiency of network construction and operation and maintenance.

- Improve the Reliability of Optical Fiber Links: The ODF provides a protective environment for optical fiber connections (such as dustproof, shockproof, and anti-bending), which reduces the signal loss and failure rate of optical fiber links. At the same time, the ODF's modular design makes it convenient for maintenance personnel to quickly locate and repair faults, shortening the network downtime.

- Realize the Flexible Scheduling of Optical Fiber Resources: In the process of network operation, the demand for optical fiber links may change due to business adjustment (such as the expansion of user scale or the change of business types). The ODF can realize the flexible scheduling of optical fiber resources through the adjustment of adapter connections, avoiding the need to re-lay optical cables, which saves the cost of network transformation.

2. Significance in the Technological Evolution of the Communication Industry

- Promote the Development of High-speed Optical Communication: With the upgrading of optical communication technology (such as the development from 10G to 100G, 400G optical modules), the requirements for the performance of optical fiber connections are getting higher and higher. The ODF's high-precision adapter and low-loss design provide a reliable physical foundation for high-speed optical signal transmission, which promotes the commercialization of high-speed optical communication technologies.

- Drive the Innovation of Optical Communication Supporting Equipment: The development of ODF also drives the innovation of related supporting equipment, such as high-density optical adapters, intelligent fiber monitoring modules, etc. These technologies not only improve the performance of ODF itself, but also promote the technological progress of the entire optical communication industry chain.

- Adapt to the Diversified Needs of Communication Scenarios: The iteration of ODF (such as miniaturized ODF for FTTx, industrial-grade ODF for industrial scenarios) meets the diversified needs of different communication scenarios, which expands the application scope of optical communication technology and promotes the popularization of optical fiber networks in more fields.

3. Significance in the Development of Digital Economy

- Support the Construction of Digital Infrastructure: The digital economy relies on high-speed and stable information networks, and the ODF is an important part of the optical fiber network infrastructure. The large-scale application of ODF has laid a solid foundation for the construction of 5G, data centers, and the Industrial Internet, which provides strong support for the development of digital economy industries such as cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence.

- Promote the Transformation and Upgrading of Traditional Industries: The popularization of optical fiber networks (supported by ODF) has promoted the digital transformation of traditional industries such as manufacturing, transportation, and energy. For example, in the manufacturing industry, the industrial Internet based on optical fiber networks can realize the real-time monitoring and intelligent scheduling of production equipment, improving production efficiency and product quality.

- Drive the Development of the Optical Communication Industry Chain: The ODF industry drives the development of upstream and downstream industries such as optical fiber, optical cable, optical adapter, and communication equipment manufacturing. According to the data of the China Communications Industry Association, the global ODF market size exceeded 2.5 billion US dollars in 2024, and the related industrial chain scale exceeded 10 billion US dollars, which has become an important part of the global communication equipment market.

In summary, the ODF optical distribution frame is not only a simple "fiber management device", but also a core node connecting the entire optical communication network. With the continuous development of digital technologies, the ODF will continue to evolve in terms of function, form and application scenarios, and play a more important role in the construction of the global digital infrastructure and the development of the digital economy