Opportunities in RF/network convergence
[An exclusive interview with a technical leader]
Staff -- Test & Measurement World, 6/1/2005
Hiromichi Toda joined Anritsu in 1971, after graduating from the Waseda University Department of Science and Engineering. He has held engineering and general business management positions in the Kanagawa, Japan, headquarters and at the US subsidiary, based in Morgan Hill, CA. He was appointed senior VP and GM of Anritsu's measurement business group in June 2004 and became executive deputy president in April 2005. He formally assumes the role of president at this month's shareholder meeting.
Chief editor Rick Nelson caught up with Toda and Mark Evans, executive VP and the new GM of Anritsu's measurement business, at Anritsu's Morgan Hill facility. For more Q&A with Hiromichi Toda and Mark Evans on evolving markets, modular instruments, and competitiveness. Read the continuation of this interview. |
T&MW: Where are the best opportunities for communications test equipment now, in landline or wireless communications?
Toda: In the landline or fiber-optics area, core network capacity is sufficient for several more years, although there are opportunities in the "last mile." But the main opportunities are in the 3G and 3.5G wireless business. That said, wireless and wired technologies are converging through IP [Internet Protocol], and it's becoming more difficult to separate them. Within Anritsu, a division in Japan that has developed SONET test solutions is now working on solutions for mobile base stations. We expect our test-business opportunities for the wired or network side will increase with expansion of wireless data communications.
T&MW: Is each division responsible for a particular technology?
Toda: Most instruments for mobile products have been developed in Japan, and most protocol test software products, in the UK, although some base-station and microwave test equipment has been developed here in Morgan Hill. Historically, there has been a technology difference in each division's development efforts, but with the convergence that I just mentioned, we have a lot of divisions that interact with the same customers in the same markets.
T&MW: What are the prospects for 4G wireless technology?
Toda: NTT DoCoMo in Japan, with whom we work closely, has experimental 4G systems, whose goal is to exceed 100-Mbps speeds. Such high-speed mobile systems require complicated technologies, and current experimental systems are too big to be practical. It will take time for 4G products to be ready for commercial use—2010 or so. But some combinations of current 3G or 3.5G with new advanced wireless broadband-access technologies could become practical sooner—especially in the US.
T&MW: What types of RF test instruments do you offer?
Toda: Our general-purpose instruments are addressing measurement requirements through 4G. For 3G and 3.5G, we are supplying standard-specific test instruments—supporting HSDPA [High Speed Downlink Packet Access], for example. We just announced a signaling tester for HSDPA that we have been supplying to some advanced customers for more than one year.
T&MW: Geographically, what markets are particularly important for you? Is the US decreasing in importance?
Toda: Especially for manufacturing, China and all of Southeast Asia represent growing markets. But of course for R&D and cutting-edge test capability, the US remains important. Even for test equipment destined for Asia, the purchasing decision is often made in the US. Also, SOC test is increasingly important for us as SOCs acquire more RF functions, and many of the key chipset manufacturers are US-based.
T&MW: In April, Anritsu appointed an American as general manager for the test-and-measurement business.
Toda: Yes. We are a Japanese company, but we nominated Mr. Mark Evans as GM of our test-and-measurement operation, which is a very important position because test and measurement represents two-thirds of our business. Appointing an American to this position is an epoch-making move that indicates how important global markets are for us.
For more Q&A with Hiromichi Toda and Mark Evans on evolving markets, modular instruments, and competitiveness, read the continuation of this interview.
