The deployment of progressively more complex telecommunication techniques, in conjunction with the adoption of more advanced multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) technologies, will help to push the growth of the global radio frequency testing market, a new report from business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan has announced.
The report, “Global RF Testing Market Increasing Complexity of Products Translate into Growth Opportunities for Test Vendors,” estimates that market earned revenues will reach $4.20 billion in 2016, up from $3.02 billion in 2011. Frost & Sullivan analysts suggest that the market growth will be due in part to the widening adoption of MIMO and the increasing popularity of the 802.11ac and LTE Advanced standards.
“The existing 802.11 protocol devices have managed to satisfy network requirements over the past decade,” Frost & Sullivan Measurement & Instrumentation industry analyst Prathima Bommakanti said. “However, with the increasing consumption of digital data, mobile data traffic needs to be handled with more powerful wireless network infrastructure that would offer more capacity, reliability and speed.”
However, the report notes, while the overall market is forecasted to expand, modular RF test equipment is expected to compete with traditional GP and semiconductor ATE in a growing number of applications due to its ability to support lower test costs, ease-of-use and scalability, possibly limiting its growth. In addition, as competition in the market intensifies, smaller vendors may become more challenged to adequately market their products.
