Close Customer Contact is Key to Emerging Technologies

( 1 Jan 2008 )

By Stephen Las Marias, Editor


The rapid innovation and technological advancements in the wireless communications and mobile industries continue to lead the overall test and measurement (T&M) equipment market worldwide, according to Electronics Asia 2007. Market research firm Frost and Sullivan projects that the global wireless T&M industry is on track to more than double to $5.48 billion in 2013, from $2.6 billion in 2005.

In Asia, in particular, while 3G services are being rolled out in Taiwan and South East Asia, countries such as Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea have moved beyond 3G and are already deploying 3.5G and HSDPA services. 3G expansion and the upgrade to higher wireless communications standards have significantly boosted Asia's wireless T&M industry.

Mainly driving this growth are the advances in broadband mobile standards such as WCDMA, HSDPA, HSUPA, CDMA2000 1xEVDO, and further development in the wireless broadband connectivity space, as also the emerging 4G technology.

According to Frost and Sullivan, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to account for 23 percent of the global market by 2013, with revenues forecast to reach $1.237 billion.

In a recent visit to Asia, Rohde & Schwarz COO Christian Leicher met with Wireless Design and Development Asia to discuss the major technology trends in the wireless T&M industry this year. He also addressed Rohde & Schwarz's growth and development plans for the Asia-Pacific region. Excerpts:

What major technological changes have affected the wireless T&M industry over the past year?
In 2007, innovation in the world market revolved around 3G solutions. Mobile services are no longer solely focused on voice communications. We are now increasingly talking about Mobile Internet and Mobile TV, for example. Data rates are getting higher and higher. Of course, the T&M market was also dominated by emerging technologies such as 3GPP LTE and WiMAX, where we have been providing solutions to our customers in the very early stages of development.

What is Rohde & Schwarz's view of next-generation networks and how will the company address developments in this segment?
As one of the world's leading T&M companies, we do not believe it is a question of "either-or" in the future—that is, either WiMAX or 3GPP LTE. You can find different technologies and deployment philosophies in different parts of the world. In my opinion, it will be both. For us, this means that we must remain closely involved in the development of new standards. As a result, we have established R&D centers around the world in several key countries: China, Singapore, and Korea in Asia, and the US, the UK, and Denmark outside of Asia. We also have more than 70 offices worldwide, which allows us to provide a very good service and support network. That's why the best description of our position is "neutral": whatever happens in the wireless industry, we need and want to be there. Our ambition is to be a technology leader, and I am confident that we can continue to play a dominant role in the future.

What challenges do T&M equipment companies face in Asia?
No matter where you look around the world, technology is changing rapidly, and Asia, in particular, is a very important technology and market driver. That is precisely why we are going to intensify our presence in Asia starting with the opening of our new regional headquarters in Singapore in 2008. In addition, mobile phone production is very strong in Asia and there is a high priority on efficient test solutions. To meet this need, we provide our customers with state-of-the-art T&M equipment. For example, our new production tester for wireless devices, the R&S CMW500, speeds up measurement time by up to a factor of ten compared to other solutions.

How important is Asia in your growth plans?
Currently, we generate around one-third of our business in Asia. Looking out over the next few years, I see Asia as continuing to be a dynamic growth driver for Rohde & Schwarz. China, Japan, and South Korea, for example, will all play key roles in driving standards. Asia is also important to us because there is a great openness toward embracing new technologies. We share Asia's passion for new technologies, and that makes Asia a very enjoyable place for us to be.

What can we expect from R&S?
At the top of our agenda is the next generation of wireless standards such as WiMAX and LTE. We offer, for example, a broad T&M product portfolio for LTE. Several months ago, we launched a new WiMAX tester on the market. We believe that the convergence of mobile radio and the broadcast industry is also very important. I see this convergence as becoming one of our key areas of business in the future because we are the market leader in both mobile radio T&M and digital TV transmitters. In addition, as I mentioned earlier, we want to invest more in Asia and we are constantly looking for new opportunities—not just for our sales force and service organizations but also with regard to investing in local R&D centers and production facilities. That said, our core R&D and production capabilities will remain close to our Munich headquarters.


You can reach Stephen Las Marias at stephen.lasmarias@rbi-asia.com.