Taiwan optical suppliers eye orders as US moves to restrict Chinese-made transceivers | Taiwan News | Oct. 2, 2026 15:39

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s optical communications industry could benefit from potential order shifts as the US moves to restrict Chinese-made components used in AI infrastructure, CTEE reported Friday.

A Morgan Stanley report said the US could add Chinese-made optical transceiver modules to its list of controlled products as early as October. The move would not initially amount to a blanket ban, with restrictions potentially starting with next-generation 3.2-terabit products.

The policy could create opportunities for Taiwanese suppliers as US customers seek to diversify their supply chains. Industry sources said local optical communications companies could become second-source suppliers as orders shift away from Chinese manufacturers.

Potential beneficiaries include LandMark Optoelectronics Corp., Elite Advanced Laser Corp., Fiber Optic Communications Inc., LuxNet Corp., Browave Corp., and Ezconn Corp.

LandMark and Elite Advanced Laser are developing components for high-speed optical communications. Fiber Optic Communications and Browave, meanwhile, have expanded into optical fiber components for AI data centers and co-packaged optics.

LuxNet has been developing high-speed optical transceivers. Ezconn is targeting high-speed fiber-optic connectivity products.

As AI data centers handle growing volumes of data, conventional electrical signals face greater signal loss and power consumption at higher transmission speeds. Optical communications address these limitations by using light-based signals to transmit data, enabling higher bandwidth and lower losses over long distances, according to Pocket Securities.

Optical transceivers are key components in data centers and AI infrastructure. They convert electrical signals into optical signals for high-speed, long-distance data transmission, using lasers to transmit signals and photodetectors to receive them, according to Moomoo.

As AI computing requirements grow, optical transceivers have advanced from 100G to 400G and 800G, with 1.6T products increasingly being deployed. Morgan Stanley said the proposed rules would have limited near-term impact on widely used 800G products and the growing 1.6T segment, as they would primarily target 3.2T products.

The 3.2T products are expected to begin ramping up in 2028 and see broader adoption in 2029, suggesting any impact on orders and revenue would emerge gradually.