Much of the volatility in the cable market is tied to the raw material costs on the supply side. As a result, the pricing trends of cables and wires are not entirely driven by market demand. The market is also far from being homogenous, with the end user profiles ranging from wholesale purchasers, telecom operators, retail users, utility managers, power supply companies as well as enterprises. The leverage enjoyed by the buyers is by and large directly proportional to their off take and inversely proportional to the criticality of cables and wires to their operations.
While the technology behind cables has remained consistent, it has not stayed static. As with most applied sciences, cables have witnessed a relentless stakeholder drive towards achieving better transmission with lesser resources. This has led to improvement and improvisations in the core conductor as well as its assembly technologies.