Bhaskar H.S. has two decades of experience in the test and measurement (T&M) industry. In his current role as director, India operations, Spirent Communications, he works closely with next-generation network (NGN) developers. “Such partnerships are aimed at providing players with the T&M tools required to deliver an enhanced user experience to consumers,” he says.

However, for T&M providers, the current trend of operators moving from circuit-switched networks to packet-switched networks poses several challenges. “In this context, T&M players are under tremendous pressure from telecom operators to deploy NGN in a speedy manner. It is challenging to educate these players about the complexity and time required to shift from an older technology to a new one,” he says.

Another development that is having a significant effect on the T&M industry is the launch of 3G and 4G services. “The introduction of these services has transformed the landscape of the T&M industry. In the short term, a large number of operators are expected to launch LTE-TDD and LTE-FDD networks. These services, in turn, are expected to create a market for a new line of T&M products and solutions,” he explains.

To tap the emerging business opportunities offered by the launch of such networks, Spirent is working with chipset-manufacturers and service providers to develop testing tools to be used for device and service validation. The T&M major is also working closely with the government (especially the defence forces) to help secure its communication networks. Going forward, Bhaskar believes that location-based security solutions will offer huge scope for growth for T&M companies.

Bhaskar brings to the table extensive industry experience. He has earlier been associated with Acterna (now JDSU) and Subex Systems. Looking back at his career, he says, “In the 1990s, the telecom industry moved from technologies such as SDH to GSM and CDMA. It was a challenging yet great learning experience to support operators in making the transition from old technologies to new ones.”

For him, success follows from being honest to work. As a manager, he views his team members as enablers in achieving the company’s goals. He devotes his free time to organisations involved in conservation of natural resources. He takes avid interest in photography.