Mobile data uptake drives demand for wireless test equipment

The wireless test equipment market is projected to exceed the $3.1 billion mark in 2010.

Olga Yashkova, Program Manager, Frost & Sullivan -- Test & Measurement World, 12/22/2010 12:00:00 AM

Mobile data traffic continues to grow exponentially, with several countries—including the US—reporting extremely high growth rates for mobile data from 2008 to 2010. Total US mobile data traffic is expected to experience an explosive growth exceeding 100% from 2009 to the 2010 year end. With the exponential growth of smartphones, mobile data revenues are expected to contribute more to total mobile services revenues. In the third quarter of 2010, over 45% of the mobile data devices sold in the US were smartphones. Operators now require more sophisticated information relating to the nature, location, and timing of traffic because it drives growth for network and service troubleshooting and management and optimization solutions.

The wireless-test-equipment market is forecast to have $3.8 billion in revenue by 2014. To read past "Market Trends" columns, go to www.tmworld.com/markettrends.

The wireless industry offers unlimited opportunities for vendors of test equipment, especially with increased smartphone usage and with LTE coming on board. The development of LTE technology is expected to be a significant driver for the wireless-test-equipment market. LTE, which delivers high data rates up to 100 Mbps, will create a challenge for wireless operators as they try to manage their networks and services while profitably delivering high customer satisfaction levels.

Even though mass LTE deployments have not taken place yet, network equipment manufacturers have begun to use LTE-compatible test equipment largely in order to be prepared for the future. Test-equipment vendors such as Anritsu, Rohde & Schwarz, Spirent, Aeroflex, JDSU, EXFO, Anite, and Ixia have developed either new solutions or upgraded their existing products to be compatible with LTE.

Additionally, because the increased use of mobile data creates more traffic on the network, the need for providers to test for QoS (quality of service) and QoE (quality of equipment) has also increased. The greater mobile data usage has led to a technology change in the transmission pipeline, which has seen a conversion from copper to optical technologies. Such a transition creates new opportunities for testing 1-Gbps, 10-Gbps, 40-Gbps, and 100-Gbps.

The wireless test equipment market is projected to exceed the $3.1 billion mark in 2010 and reach $3.8 billion in 2014. The cumulative average growth rate from 2010 until 2014 is estimated at 5%.

The growth of the wireless-test-equipment market is fueled by the growth in mobile data traffic; by the increased penetration of smartphones as well as connected devices such as laptops, netbooks, and tablets; and by higher-bandwidth-consuming applications and services. In other words, networks, devices, and services will continue to drive mobile data traffic growth, which in turn will create the need for more feature-rich, cutting-edge testing and diagnostic tools.

Rebound driving automotive MEMS sensor market The rapid recovery in automotive production and inventory rebuilding among sensor component suppliers is driving the market for automotive MEMS (microelectromechanical system) sensors to record size in 2010, according to iSuppli, now part of IHS. According to a report from the market-research company, shipments of automotive MEMS sensors will reach 662.3 million units in 2010, up 32.1% from 501.2 million units in 2009. The projected year-end levels—including the replenishment of inventory pipelines that were depleted during the recession of 2009—will exceed even the pre-crisis high point in 2007 of 640 million sensors, iSuppli data shows. ISuppli reported that growth will slow in 2011, with shipments anticipated to climb 7.3% as the market normalizes following the exuberance in 2010. The firm estimated that production will pick up again in 2012, and growth rates will exceed 13% by 2014. Safety technologies, including ESC (electronic stability control) and TPMS (tire pressure monitoring systems), will continue to fuel automotive MEMS use growth, as such technologies become mandated by various governments and overall adoption continues beyond the US and Europe. ISuppli also noted use of gas sensors to control air quality in the cabin, infrared thermopiles to monitor temperature, microbolometers to aid night-vision systems, and MEMS oscillators to boost rear-view cameras among new applications providing suppliers greater production opportunities for automotive MEMS sensors. Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News, EDN