T&M : Cashing on Innovation

In the emerging scenario of communication technologies, quality and longevity

are the two crucial aspects that decide the future of any product or service. In

the current business milieu, consumers expect better return from equal IT spend

and have plenty of options to select from. Therefore, it makes sense for

developers to pay adequate attention to product evolution to ensure that there

are no slip-ups at final stages.

Even as India rides high on telecom growth, the quality of service is yet to

make a mark. At present, operators are busy increasing the subscriber base to

increase profit margins. No proper consideration is given to reduce call drops

or to improve overall quality of service. In order to reach new heights in terms

of mobile services, especially in metros and A circles, call drops have to be

reduced through plummeting interference between two cells of the same operator

or two cells of different operators.

Ironically, in India, telephone operators are spending less than 1% of their

capital expenditure on testing whereas in developed countries this expense

accounts for more than 5%. Also, the introduction of HSPA and other competitive

technologies have promised umpteen opportunities for both new and existing

players in the country. However, to leverage these opportunities, it is crucial

to spend sizeable amount of time in the research and development of desired

products and equipments.

As the communication networks are growing in use and size, and networks are

proceeding to IP-based Ethernet; the call for accurate and steadfast test and

measurement procedures has shown an enormous demand in recent years.

“As the size of the components keep shrinking, manufacturing and repairs of

the latest gadgets will require much more sophisticated T & M equipments. Hence

emergence of new technologies will be the key factor for overall growth of the

industry,” says John William, head, operations, Comtek Solutions

Also, the evolution of wireless technologies including WiMax, CDMA2000, GPRS,

EGPRS, WCDMA, HSDPA, and 1xEV, allow opening of new wireless devices that fuse

voice, Internet, and multimedia services, a whole range of services and

applications are emerging in a big way. As a result the test and measurement

segment is witnessing a walloping appearance in India.

“New technologies make it easier for concurrent voice and data access and

transport, but at the same time make it as more complex to manage and monitor.

T&M (Testing and Management) will play an increasingly valuable role in the

deployment and management of these new technologies,” says Alamuri Sitaramaiah,

GM, Sales, Fluke Networks, India.

Due to the increasing focus onQuality of Service (QoS), expectations of

customers are gradually increasing. In order to meet the requirements of

customers, solution providers are adopting focused approach to innovate upon

their test center platform and other solutions.

“Our growth is primarily driven by our focus on our customer's growth areas,

as we provide them with the tools and solutions that they need to bring for

their customers. Our future strategy is to primarily stay relevant to our

customers and to predict market requirements and prepare ourselves accordingly,”

says William Burns, CEO, Sprient Communications.

The appearance of new communication devices and technologies are making a

huge appeal in the Indian market and industry. Demand is for elaborate testing

and measurement to maintain the standards required for ensuring quality. With an

increasing amount of data, end users also wants unrestricted access to data

wherever they are, on any device, and at good speed.

After the noteworthy revolution in mobile communications, Indian industry is

betting big on the broadband front. The country is expected to have around 20 mn

broadband subscribers by 2010. Currently, India is way behind in the broadband

numbers and has close to 5 mn broadband subscribers. To meet the desired growth

rate, there is a strong need to rely on various alternate technologies such as

DSL, WLAN, WiMax and 3G. In the next few years, we can expect large-scale

deployments of broadband infrastructure in India. The growth of the infotainment

industry and mobile convergence is also going to play a major role in

influencing this growth in India.

As the process of allocating 3G spectrums and rolling out services is being

hastened, 3G trials in India have been going on in parallel. Trials are being

carried for technologies such as WCDMA, WiMax, CDMA200, 1XEVDO, etc. According

to experts, test and measurement equipments will help in this wireless evolution

by providing tools for infrastructure development, manufacturing deployment,

operation and maintenance.

“The growth that was triggered by the deregulation of the telecom industry

and the issue of new licenses for different circles has spiraled into a big

telecom revolution in the country. The wireless subscriber base in India is

growing at a very fast pace and going by the way the broadband's growth is being

projected, it will be a further shot-in-the-arm for telecom growth in India.

This clubbed with the near-term planned 3G rollout, would fuel the growth for

this sector,” says Gautam Awasthi, general manager, marketing, Agilent

Technologies.

In its recent study, WiMax forum has projected that India will have more than

27.5 mn WiMax subscribers by 2012, accounting for around 20% of the global WiMax

subscriber base. The technology is expected to provide a much needed push to

broadband growth.

The deployments of 3G and WiMax would initiate the demand for measurement

tools and network installation equipments. Also, operators and service providers

now seem to take the mobile growth to the rural and far-flung areas. Considering

India as an emerging market for telecom services, it is likely to become a

manufacturing powerhouse in the years to come. Global vendors are establishing

shops in the country, and with attractive government policies including SEZs,

India can grab the attention of many manufacturing units in the future.

Furthermore, with the evolvement of multiple services, network equipment

manufacturers, service providers, cable installers and network operators are

eagerly looking toward products that could simplify multiplay tests. Agilent,

for instance has recently introduced multiple test solutions that support the

development and deployment of multiplay infrastructures.

Prodigious Expectations



As the industry is transmigrating to complex next generation networks and

services, considerable traction is being noticed in areas such as the

convergence of wired and wireless networks and the converged next generation

networks. To improve the overall efficiency of various products and services.

The industry requires innovative technology and business solutions.

Interestingly, India being an emerging market is expected to see huge

investments in the manufacturing sector. The investments can radically shift the

approach to developing and designing products. In the beginning, most of the

testing and design was done in developed economies. However, as the talent and

knowledge of engineers increases in the domestic market, high-value jobs are

evolving in the domestic market.

“Another factor that helps the T&M sector to grow in India, is exports,

particularly of mobile handsets and consumer electronics products, as Indian

manufacturers need to invest a lot in the T&M equipment to ensure that their

produce meet stringent International standards,” says Gautam Awasthi, GM,

Agilent Technologies.

“Major part of the T&M industry's revenue has always come from the telecom sector. With all major telecom companies facing a severe credit crunch now, most companies are deferring an equipment purchase” Yatish Mohan, managing director & head, test & measurement, Rohde and Schwarz	“As the size of the components keep shrinking, manufacturing and repairs of the latest gadgets will require much more sophisticated T & M equipments. Hence emergence of new technologies will be the key factor for overall growth of the industry” John William, head, operations, Comtek Solutions	“The wireless subscriber base in India is growing at a very fast pace. And the way broadband growth is being projected it will be a further shot-in-the-arm for telecom growth in India” Gautam Awasthi, general manager, Marketing, Agilent Technologies

Now testing is considered very critical to get maximum value for the customer

and therefore companies are putting a lot of effort and considerable time to

test the product before its actual deployment. Though the overall awareness on

the relevance of testing has improved a lot in the India market, it is still at

a very nascent stage.

The rising demand for entertainment rich applications such as gaming, video,

music download, ring tones, messages, mobile Internet, etc, has huge traction

for T&M growth at the global level. Also, with the exodus of technologies from

3G to LTE and 4G, the strategic focus on research and development is likely to

expand at the global forefront.

It is noteworthy to mention that most matured markets already have 3G

networks and are in the process of deploying 3.5G or 4G networks.

Broadcast sector is another burgeoning area, which could provide high growth

opportunities for T&M. The sector is driving the wire line communications

business with DVB-H and IPTV being the hottest trend.

According to estimates, the total size of T&M market in India is close to Rs

1,000 crore (considering segments as RF & Microwaves, Switching/fixed line,

Optical fibre, General Purpose, TV technologies, etc). In the next five years,

the market is expected to achieve 30% y-o-y growth rate. Most of the companies

have been able to post over 50% growth especially in hardware and software area.

Among the key trends, Ethernet will continue to escalate in both, speed as

well as standard. Experts believe that the standards bodies have done a

remarkable job to resolve all the issues and barriers associated with using

Ethernet as a technology. Further, many telecom companies have their R&D centers

in India are working really hard on various future technologies such as LTE and

HSPA. Also, the research and development in the 4G networks is likely to

increase in the coming few years to gain appropriate strength and

competitiveness in the Indian market.

Hurdles to Cross



Though the overall growth in testing and measurement sector is noteworthy in

the last few years, it has not reached its full potential.

“The ignorance of customers is itself a great challenge. At the global level,

testing is done right in the beginning of product development. However, in the

Indian context, customer thinks about testing after the development of the

product,” says Ananda Rao Ladi, vice president, MindTree.

The approach and mindset, therefore needs to change in order to bring more

innovation in the product portfolio. As testers can give more inputs regarding

the success of any given product, a smart organization, with the process of T&M,

can figure out the suitability of the product in the present market conditions.

The other major challenge is the growing complexity of the services and shift

in the core consumer demands. The industry is witnessing heavy investments in

data centers, Ethernet, new technologies and protocols.

“This is a natural and understandable phenomena when a new technology enters

a market, and our experience with similar roll-outs in other markets would

definitely enable us to work closer with our customers, and consult them on what

they can expect,” says William Burns, CEO, Sprient Communications.

Also, investments in new networks and manufacturing facilities have been

indefinitely delayed, in turn causing an impact on the operators' ability to

deploy new networks.

“The major part of the T&M industry's revenue has always come from the

telecom sector. Under the current scenario, with all the major telecom companies

facing a severe credit crunch, the default path taken by most companies is to

defer on equipment purchase,” says Yatish Mohan, managing director and head,

Rohde and Schwarz.

“This response from the telecom industry is likely to take a serious toll on

equipment manufacturers, with the number of instruments purchased by them

dropping day by day.” Mohan further adds.

With the current growth opportunities in the Indian market, T&M market

represents a huge potential in India, however, proper consideration needs to be

given to production to give good business opportunities to the industry.

Jatinder Singh



jatinders@cybermedia.co.in