How many cores are enough for a China Unicom optical cable

China Unicom optical cables can range from 46 cores in hybrid hollow-core designs up to 240 cores in high-capacity ribbon cables.China Unicom deploys a variety of optical cables depending on the application. For example, their first commercial hollow-core fiber cable uses a hybrid configuration of 46-core G.652 fibers plus 2 hollow-core fibers, designed for compatibility with existing networks while enhancing transmission performance . This type of cable is typically used for dedicated high-speed lines, such as financial or enterprise connections. For larger-scale network infrastructure, China Unicom also utilizes high-density ribbon cables with up to 240 cores, which are commonly used in trunk lines of access networks. These cables are constructed by bundling multiple fiber ribbons, each containing 4–12 fibers, to maximize capacity while maintaining a compact and manageable cable diameter . Additionally, in specific projects like the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Cross-Border Financial Services Data Corridor, hybrid cables combining 36-core G.652D fibers with 2 hollow-core fibers have been procured, demonstrating the flexibility in core counts for different network requirements . In summary, the number of cores in China Unicom optical cables varies widely: small-scale hybrid cables may have 48 cores (46+2), medium-scale projects often use 36-core configurations, and high-capacity trunk cables can reach 240 cores, depending on the network application and performance requirements.