Every product in the market – electronic, mechanical, wired or wireless – is expected to deliver quality. Most companies manufacturing these products work relentlessly to ensure the same. Test and measurement (T&M) is an important and mandatory aspect of product development.

The Indian T&M sector has been growing at 12-15 per cent. Companies in this space are developing innovative strategies to expand their reach in the market as well as to be at the forefront of delivering T&M products and services. Research conducted by Frost & Sullivan suggests that companies are consolidating through partnerships to provide the required products, services and solutions in this space and cater to the needs of product development companies.

Growth drivers

India has achieved 78 per cent teledensity and has close to 950 million mobile subscribers. This growth has led to a gradual increase in the demand for quality services, which, in turn, has led to a greater emphasis by T&M vendors on meeting this requirement.

This tremendous growth in the wireless sector has been attributed to the exponential increase in the mobile subscriber base. The penetration of smartphones and applications for mobile social networking, mobile banking, video streaming, etc. have had a significant impact on the T&M segment. Moreover, wireless data services have driven the need for sophisticated applications and robust functionality in testing processes. The wireless market is extremely dynamic, with new trends and technologies being introduced regularly, which has compelled T&M companies to keep pace with market requirements.

T&M companies face the huge task of staying abreast of latest technologies to integrate futuristic functionalities into existing test processes. In spite of these challenges, there are many opportunities in the T&M space and hence companies are finding ways to position themselves  to penetrate this market.

Market drivers

4G technologies such as long term evolution (LTE) are likely to be deployed during the second quarter of 2012. Growing complexities in wireless technologies have led to a greater need for T&M. The major market drivers for this space include:

•   The increasing number of mobile devices and smartphones

•   Greater uptake in wireless data services

•   Network upgradation and interoperability requirements

•   Growth in research and development from a product perspective

•   Efficient network porting, increasing the ease of use of testing instruments

•   Growing need for high speed data transfer services

•   Increasing demand from the Indian defence sector.

Issues and challenges

One of the major challenges that T&M companies face is pricing-related pressure from product development companies. In order to keep development costs low, such companies try to minimise testing costs. This is a big challenge for companies in the T&M space as they spend large amounts to keep pace with future technology trends and match customer needs. However, product development companies have started realising that testing is a critical component of the product development cycle. Some other challenges faced by the T&M segment include:

•   Low availability of alternative testing technologies and platforms

•    Lack of clarity in government policies

•   Price-sensitive end-users and low subscriber ARPUs

•   Lack of a structured ecosystem.

Future trends

Multinational companies are the major participants in the T&M market. Some major companies have set up offices in India and are promoting T&M. Further, they have taken initiatives to consolidate their offerings so as to provide comprehensive services and solutions to customers.

Most companies expand their product portfolio to tap new customer segments while ensuring quality products and services for the segments they are already present in. Some Indian companies have also been successful in expanding their business as resellers, distributors and manufacturers, or by partnering companies in specific market segments. However, they are yet to create a strong brand reputation and recognition.

Several market segments have high entry barriers with respect to the need for specialised design and development expertise, and the differentiation provided by proprietary technology. The Indian market is very price sensitive, which is a determining factor for competition. Keeping pace with today’s tech-savvy generation and its desire for advanced features at reasonable prices is a major competitive factor that companies must tackle while giving equal importance to T&M and network security solutions.

Indian wireless space

With the growing subscriber base and the increase in data traffic due to demand for video and other media-rich content, there has been a rapid expansion in mobile internet services. Hence, service providers are required to be familiar with the latest developments. The deployment of LTE/4G technologies is likely to enhance network quality and optimise data usage.

Multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) is an important part of wireless communication standards such as IEEE 802.11n (Wi-Fi), 3GPP long term evolution, 4G, Wi-Max and HSPA+. These technology standards enable service providers to deliver a comprehensive solution within the defined parameters for speed, quality and variety of services. All upcoming 4G systems will also employ MIMO antenna technology. Besides, smartphones, location-based services, mobile commerce and banking, and geographic navigation are all trendsetting technologies that require sophisticated chips, intricate logic, and advanced application development. All these are crucial factors in the field of wireless equipment and provide an impetus, in terms of opportunity, to T&M product and service providers.

Between 2010 and 2017, the mobile device testing segment is expected to earn revenue of $600 million at a compound annual growth rate of 19.5 per cent. This is due to the growing mobile user base and the explosive technological progress in handsets and smart chipsets.