Fuji develops cheaper optical fiber for homes


Fuji, which aims to sell the fiber for home use, is seeing its stock outperform the market on a day Tokyo stocks are up again

TOKYO, Japan -- Fuji Photo Film Co. said Tuesday it has developed a low-cost plastic optical fiber for broadband networks.

Fuji, Japan's largest photo-film company, plans to target household users with the fiber, which lets customers set up a network for one-tenth the cost of conventional optical-fiber networks.

Fuji confirmed to Reuters news agency that the company plans to commercialize the fiber before the end of the business year in March. But the timeline is not fixed.

"We haven't actually set a firm schedule for launching operations," a spokeswoman said.

Fuji Photo reportedly plans to work on an optical-fiber plant with its Fuji Xerox Co. affiliate, which develops fiber-optic technology.

More accurate

The plastic fiber is reportedly more accurate than regular fiber and is thicker, which makes it easier to connect. That will cut on installation costs, the company says.

Regular glass fiber requires special equipment to melt and fuse the wires because they are so thin.

Fuji developed the fiber with plastic resin, based on a patent from a professor at Keio University.

Fuji stock is up 2.87 percent at 3,590 yen on Tuesday morning, outdoing a 1.19 percent rise in the Nikkei.