Smartphone use offers growth opportunities for LTE test equipment vendors

MOUNTAIN VIEW, USA: According to Frost and Sullivan, long-term evolution (LTE) is quickly becoming popular in the wireless communications industry and the testing of LTE devices and services is critical to comply with industry standards and to provide high-quality products and services that exceed customer expectations.

Demand for LTE test equipment will continue to grow, driven by increasing mobility as well as the ability to access the Internet, download videos at faster rates, and run data-hungry applications through mobile devices. The Global Long-term Evolution Test Equipment Market, finds that the market, which earned revenues of $947.2 million in 2012 will more than quadruple to reach $3,974.1 million in 2019.

Accommodating the various levels of complexity requires time and investment in research and development, both of which can hold back the LTE test equipment market. The telecommunications industry is struggling with the intricate task of integrating new technologies, including LTE, at different frequency bands into networks and devices.

Base stations have also become complex in order to be compatible with different standards like frequency division-LTE, WiMAX, and time division-LTE. Global test equipment vendors will have to keep up with these diverse standards, while simultaneously simplifying testing. In addition, test equipment vendors must adapt to automating test scripts, which is another upcoming trend in the market.