Renovation Projects for Aged Campus Networks Surge: How System Integrators Win FTTx Orders for Existing Premises?

The renovation of aged campuses has become the primary battlefield of the all-optical network market.

70% of the campus market consists of renovation projects for existing premises. While new campus construction growth is slowing down, demands for network upgrades in aged campuses are being unleashed intensively. The all-optical network market size is projected to keep expanding from 2026 to 2030. IDC forecasts that China’s POL market will maintain growth in 2026.

Policies are also providing strong support. The 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Information and Communications Industry issued by MIIT clearly states that China will actively carry out 10G PON pilot construction and gradually expand 10G network coverage. It requires the orderly rollout of Fiber to the Room (FTTR) in the construction and renovation of civil buildings. Chongqing has taken the lead in incorporating "passive Ethernet all-optical networks" into local standards. Jiangsu released China’s first standard for fiber-to-the-home in civil buildings. The three provinces and one municipality in the Yangtze River Delta jointly compiled all-optical network standards. Design institutes now have formal standards for drawings, and owners can refer to these standards during bidding.

All-optical networks are becoming the standard for government and enterprise infrastructure renovation.

I. Why Aged Campus Renovation Represents Opportunities for Integrators

New construction projects are usually secured by telecom operators and large system integrators, leaving small and medium-sized integrators with limited access.

Aged campus renovation is different. Such projects share several common characteristics: no large-scale demolition and reconstruction, no prolonged network outages, limited budgets, and complex on-site conditions. Operators’ standardized solutions struggle to adapt to these scenarios, and large integrators are reluctant to take on such "fine-grained work".

Ultimately, these projects fall to local system integrators.

The profit logic of renovation projects differs from new builds. New projects are price-driven, while renovation projects hinge on delivery capability. Faced with the same aged campus, competitors offering low bids may fail to deliver, as they lack site knowledge, experience in infrastructure reuse, and skills for in-service cutover. If you can accomplish what others cannot, you gain pricing leverage.

II. Technical Logic of All-Optical Network Renovation

The core constraints for aged campus renovation are no large demolition and no prolonged network downtime. Traditional copper cable solutions hit bottlenecks under these constraints.

The strengths of all-optical networks precisely address these pain points.

• Compact fiber with no wall breaking required: Optical fiber is only a few millimeters in diameter. It can run through existing narrow pipelines without extensive civil engineering demolition.
• Long transmission distance reduces equipment rooms: A single fiber segment supports transmission up to 20 km. Only one or two equipment rooms are needed for an entire building.
• Passive architecture with fewer failure points: All-optical networks adopt passive splitters, which require no power supply or heat dissipation. Equipment rooms in aged campuses often have harsh environments with high failure rates for active devices, making passive splitters a better fit.
• One-time deployment with long-term benefits: Optical fiber boasts far greater bandwidth capacity than copper cables. It easily supports Gigabit and 10G services today. Future upgrades only require replacing terminal devices at both ends, with no changes to fiber cabling.

All-optical networks are the preferred solution for existing-premise renovation.

III. What to Evaluate When Selecting a Vendor for All-Optical Network Agency

Market opportunities are real. Whether you can secure these orders depends on whether the vendor can help you resolve practical challenges.

Check if the vendor can deliver solutions for legacy infrastructure reuse

AINOPOL’s all-optical renovation solution adopts standardized construction workflows including site survey, pipeline cleaning, fiber core replacement and route reuse. It enables all-optical upgrades without large-scale civil demolition. The equipment is compatible with legacy systems, supporting phased replacement and smooth migration, without full service shutdown for renovation.

Check if the vendor can provide full technical backing

AINOPOL positions itself on the principle: You handle front-end work, we take care of the back end. The vendor takes charge of pre-sales solution design and bidding document preparation; handles commissioning and on-site support during project implementation; and provides after-sales operation and maintenance support. You do not need to maintain an in-house all-optical technical team, and only focus on client communication and on-site coordination.

Check the vendor’s track record of real-world deployments

AINOPOL’s all-optical network solutions have been deployed in campus scenarios such as Academician Longping Port. Deployments also include Changqing Oilfield, Longxing Chemical (cross-provincial networking covering Hebei, Henan and Shanxi), Nankunshan Villa Hot Spring Hotel, Sayram Lake Scenic Area and more, covering energy, manufacturing, hospitality, scenic spots and other industries.

Orders for aged campus renovation are being released in batches. 70% of the campus market belongs to renovation scenarios. This market volume is substantial and will keep growing — thousands of aged campuses nationwide are facing the same network upgrade pressure.

Capturing these orders relies not purely on your technical capability, but on partnering with a supplier that can tackle four core challenges: legacy infrastructure reuse, non-stop operation, full technical backing and client protection.

FAQ

Q: What is the market scale for aged campus renovation?
A: According to Huawei’s all-optical campus renovation solution, 70% of the campus market is renovation for existing premises. The all-optical network market is expected to sustain growth. Projects including Longhua Energy Ecological Park and China Telecom campus renovation have entered the bidding phase.

Q: Can integrators without all-optical technical background become agents?
A: Yes. AINOPOL follows the principle of You handle front-end work, we take care of the back end. The vendor undertakes pre-sales solution design and bidding document drafting, provides on-site commissioning and support during implementation, and covers after-sales O&M. We also offer a full support system including online training and one-on-one mentoring.

Q: What deployment cases does AINOPOL have?
A: AINOPOL all-optical network solutions have been deployed in Academician Longping Port, Changqing Oilfield, Longxing Chemical, Nankunshan Villa Hot Spring Hotel, Sayram Lake Scenic Area and other sites across energy, manufacturing, hospitality and tourist attraction sectors.