Keysight Technologies and rivals Anritsu and Viavi have revealed that they have achieved more revenue in their recent quarters due to the investment in 5G networks, 5G chipsets and 5G smartphone market.
5G picks up
GSA estimates that 296 operators in 100 countries have launched with limited availability, deployed, demonstrated, are testing or trialling, or have been licensed to conduct field trials of mobile 5G or FWA 5G.
This apart, 56 operators in 32 countries have announced the deployment of 5G within their live network. 39 operators have announced 3GPP 5G service launches (or limited service launches).
151 operators are investing in NB-IoT in 72 countries; of these, 98 NB-IoT networks are deployed / launched in 53 countries. 62 operators are investing in LTE-M/Cat-M1 in 36 countries; of these, 38 LTE-M/Cat-M1 networks are deployed/commercially launched in 26 countries.
The market for fiber optic test equipment is expected to grow from $781.3 million in 2018 to $1.31 billion in 2025 as telecoms and cable MSO are enhancing their fiber build-outs, according to Sujan Sami, Program Manager, Measurement & Instrumentation at Frost and Sullivan.
Anritsu test and measurement
Anritsu, a company based in Japan, said its revenue from test and measurement business rose 20.3 percent to 17,315 million yen or $165 million during the first-quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020.
Anritsu’s test and measurement business manufactures and sells measuring instruments and systems for communications applications, and service assurance, to telecom operators, manufacturers of related equipment, and maintenance and installation companies around the world.
Anritsu said orders for its T&M business increased due to progress in R&D investment on 5G chipsets and terminals mainly in Asia.
Keysight
Keysight generated revenue of $683 million (+13 percent) from Communications Solutions Group (CSG), driven by demand for 5G solutions across the wireless ecosystem, in the third quarter.
Keysight reported revenue of $295 million (+3 percent) from Electronic Industrial Solutions Group (EISG), driven by strength in automotive and general electronics across a broad set of industries, offset by softness in the semiconductor market.
Keysight posted revenue of $110 million (–7 percent) from Ixia Solutions Group (ISG), reflecting softness in the network test market.
Keysight has benefitted from the acquisition of Anite in 2015. Keysight said the company’s expansion into the software layers of test with Anite has resulted in significant share gains in the 5G market.
Keysight also announced the acquisition of Prisma Telecom Testing — based in Milan, Italy — with software expertise in delivering network equipment manufacturer solutions.
Keysight launched Automotive Cybersecurity Test Portfolio, delivering hardware, software and services that address the concern of cyber-attacks on connected vehicles.
Keysight’s Ixia Solutions Group is delivering security validations of the 4G and 5G radio access network infrastructure that connects vehicles, and the backend data centers that manage business operations.
Keysight aims to improve go-to-market and product development to reduce complex issues in 5G deployments across devices, base stations and core networks.
“We see future opportunities to expand our footprint within enterprises deploying dedicated networks, as our network visibility solutions provide increased actionable insight and security for mission critical applications running on these networks,” Satish Dhanasekaran, president, Communications Solutions Group at Keysight, said.
Telecom network makers can support their operator clients to upgrade their existing 4G base stations into 5G base stations via software. But both telecom network companies and mobile operators need a completely new tester.
5G represents a complete change because of higher frequencies and wider bandwidth. The diversity between the non-stand-alone and stand-alone represents a pretty big opportunity for the testing company, Satish Dhanasekaran said.
Viavi
Viavi reported revenue of $289.7 million (+11.1 percent) in its fourth fiscal quarter ended June 29, 2019.
Viavi generated $197.3 million (+10.2 percent) from network enablement, $24.1 million (–15.4 percent) from service enablement and $68.3 million (+28.4 percent) from Optical Security and Performance Products.
Viavi said 50 percent of overall Viavi revenue comes from products with strong expected secular growth, namely 5G, fiber, and 3D sensing, as compared to fiscal year 2015.
Oleg Khaykin, chief executive officer of Viavi, said: “5G wireless, fiber and 3D sensing were strong contributors to our overall fiscal 2019 revenue and operating margin performance.”
Viavi has generated 38.6 percent of revenue from Americas, 30.9 percent from Asia Pacific and 30.5 percent from EMEA customers.
5G is creating huge opportunities for global test and measurement companies such as Keysight, Anritsu and Viavi. They look for increase in 5G investment by companies such as China Mobile or AT&T; 5G smartphone launches by Huawei or Samsung and introduction of 5G chipsets from MediaTek or Qualcomm.
Baburajan K
