The market for wireless protocol analyzers and network monitoring systems finds great prospects from 2010 to 2016 thanks to Long Term Evolution (LTE (News - Alert)) deployments, said a news analysis from Frost & Sullivan.
Although the market has reached its maturity, LTE deployments will push the prospects forward from 2010 to 2016.
The analysis, “World Wireless Protocol Analyzers and Network Monitoring Systems Market,” finds that the market earned $575.3 million in 2009 and estimates this to reach $850.6 million in 2016.
The demand for wireless protocol analyzers and network monitoring systems will be high as more LTE deployments happen around the world. LTE, the fourth-generation mobile technology, delivers high data rates up to 100 Mbps. This speed poses challenges for wireless operators as they try to manage their network and services, while profitably delivering high customer satisfaction levels, according to Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert).
“With the exponential growth of smart phones, mobile data revenues expect to contribute more to total mobile services revenues,” said Frost & Sullivan Program Manager, Olga Yashkova, in a statement.
As a result, operators require more sophisticated information relating to the nature, location and timing of traffic because it drives growth for network and service troubleshooting and management and optimization solutions, Yashkova added.
Though there is significant rise in mobile data traffic, it does not translate into significant increase in revenues. The success of flat-rate wireless Internet access leads to unique requirements for network service troubleshooting tools and protocol analysis-based optimization, according to Frost.
The growing mobile data usage also escalates the demand for quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) testing. Further, with the growth in data usage, there comes a technology change related to the transmission pipeline, for instance, conversion from the copper to optical technologies. This technology transition is creating new opportunities for testing one gigabit (Gb) per second, 10Gb, 40Gb and 100Gb pipelines for vendors.
Though there are freeware analyzer tools in the market, they pose new challenges especially with the addition of LTE technology. In the early stages of the technology, testing proved to be rather simple due to a limited number of network signals and just a few functionalities in those network elements.
According to Yashkova, during the initial stages of technology development, a NEM or NO often possessed access to a free tool for basic testing activities, such as verifying if a limited number of messages are being uploaded. “It becomes absolutely necessary, later in the technology phase, to invest in sophisticated analyzers, as both the technology itself and testing become more complex.”
The freeware tools will no longer suffice as testing time minimizes by investing in a proper analyzer. One way that test equipment vendors can address this issue is by developing applications that bring a tremendous amount of usability value in terms of features and efficiency, according to the report.
Recently Frost & Sullivan released new analysis demonstrating the gains in efficiency and success rates that companies can achieve through early-stage innovation evaluation.
“By assessing a product's viability against a set of basic criteria, companies can determine whether a product has the right market and customer base and is supported by the internal capabilities necessary for a successful launch,” Frost & Sullivan said.
Rajani Baburajan is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Rajani's articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by Jaclyn Allard