How many China Unicom optical cables are there nationwide

China Unicom's nationwide optical cable network spans tens of thousands of kilometers, with recent procurement totaling 65.7859 million core kilometers.

Network Scale and Procurement

China Unicom maintains a core fiber-optic network that serves as the backbone for voice, data, mobile, and Internet services across China, connecting over 300 cities and covering 19 of 31 provinces . The backbone includes DWDM and 10Gbit/s SDH solutions spanning up to 40,000 km, with over 200 network stations and multiple long-haul point-to-point links such as Beijing–Shanghai–Guangzhou . These links are integrated into regional SDH rings, forming a highly resilient optical network. In 2024, China Unicom conducted a centralized procurement project for optical fiber and cable, awarding contracts to 15 companies for a total of 65.7859 million core kilometers of optical cable . This procurement reflects ongoing network expansion and modernization to support high-speed broadband, 5G, and AI-driven services.

Network Architecture

The optical network is structured with long-haul DWDM links and provincial SDH rings, allowing flexible traffic routing and high-capacity data transmission . Key nodes are equipped with optical add-drop modules (OADM) and optical cross-connects (OXC), enabling efficient management of local and long-distance traffic. The network supports up to 20 million simultaneous ISDN-quality calls over a single fiber pair, demonstrating its high capacity and scalability .

Summary

While the exact total number of optical cables nationwide is not publicly disclosed, China Unicom's network includes tens of thousands of kilometers of backbone fiber, supplemented by the recent 65.7859 million core kilometers procurement. This positions China Unicom as one of the largest optical network operators in China, with extensive coverage and high-capacity infrastructure to support both current and future telecommunications demands .