Network Tester Market

Network testing is a critical parameter as it avoids or minimises the risk of network failure & network hacking and enables the predictive maintenance of networks & related devices, among others. Network testers have several applications in various industries such as healthcare, IT & telecom, oil & gas, automotive, government and residential. The key functions of network testers are certification testing, qualification testing and troubleshooting. As the network is evolving, the requirement for supporting the infrastructure is increasing, which is creating significant demand for network testers.

The evolving Internet of Things (IoT) and the emerging 5G network is fuelling the demand for network testers, which is significantly driving the network tester market. Moreover, the network tester market is significantly driven by the regulations and standards developed by various associations such as the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and others. Some of the primary standards that need to be followed during cabling are 10 BASE T, 40G BASE T Ethernet and others.

Vendors are upgrading their network testers to maintain the current standards. Network testers provide the assurance that the cable link will provide the desired network transmission capability to support the data communication desired by the user. Vendors manufacture network testers by considering the various parameters of the field network. Generally, based on these field network parameters, network testers differ in performance, application and price. With continuous developments in telecommunication technology, the market for network testers is expected to witness high Y-o-Y growth during the forecast period.

Surging demand for certification testing is fuelling growth of the network tester market

In network testers, the certification testing tool plays a key role as it is the only tool that analyses the network and provides the result as ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ as per the industry standards. For instance, in North America, vendors offer network testers as per the standard set by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) for structured cabling. On the other hand, in the international market, the network tester market is regulated by the Electro-technical commission of the International Organization for Standards (ISO/IEC). Vendors are developing network testers to simplify the certification testing in terms of the time and cost of testing. For instance:

• In February 2018, Fluke Networks, a global player in network certification, entered into a partnership with CommScope, a global player in infrastructure solutions for communications networks. With this partnership, the companies jointly developed a tool to simplify the certification of high-performance data centre networks, i.e. CertiFibre Pro, which enhances the efficiency of fibre optic certification by simplifying the set-up, speeding up troubleshooting and eliminating errors

• In November 2018, the Paige DataCom and Fluke network entered into a partnership to provide Fluke DSX CableAnalyzer Series, a leading cabling certification platform, to support the performance testing of Paige’s GameChanger cable. Paige’s GameChanger delivers 1Gbps performance and PoE over 200 meters

All these developments for simplifying certification testing are fuelling the demand for certification network testers, and are significantly driving the global network tester market.

The rapid adoption of 4G and 5G networks is driving the network tester market

Continuous developments in network and communication technology, along with the increasing adoption of 4G and 5G networks, is significantly driving the global network tester market. The governments of various countries are taking initiatives for the efficient roll-out of 4G and 5G networks. Moreover, the increasing investments on telecommunication infrastructure is another key parameter for the growth of the network tester market.

• For instance, in January 2019, T-Mobile launched 5G services in 30 cities for the commercial segment. 5G service is limited for commercial use since 5G-enabled smartphones are yet to penetrate the market. The major cities availing 5G service are New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas and others

Significant demand for network testers from Asia Pacific countries such as Japan and South Korea

The network tester market is witnessing significant demand from the Asia Pacific region due to high investments in telecom infrastructure development and the presence of a large number of network service providers. Moreover, the increasing adoption of smartphones and the high demand for high-speed Internet in these regions are creating significant demand for network testers. The increasing adoption of the 4G/5G networks in Asia Pacific is expected to be a key parameter for the growth of the network tester market

• For instance, as per ITU (International Telecommunication Union), the penetration of 4G LTE in South Korea is the highest, i.e. 97.49%, followed by Japan with 94.70% and Hong Kong with 90.34%. This high penetration is expected to significantly boost the adoption of network testers, which is expected to drive the network tester market. 

Continuous upgradation and innovation remains a key strategy

Several upgradations and innovations are being introduced in network testers. These developments are enabling the vendors of network testers to expand their product portfolio to stay ahead in the competitive network tester market. For instance:

• In November 2018, Ideal Network upgraded its product LanTek 111 data cable certifier with a partner finder feature, which helps save time, simplify cable installation, reduces guesswork and offers troubleshooting. It also emits an audio alert when the display and remote handset are connected to the same port.

Some of the key players of the global network tester market are Keysight Technologies, Anritsu, Fluke Corporation, EXFO Inc., IDEAL Networks, InterWorking Labs, Inc., Ixia, Kingfisher International, Spirent Communications, VIAVI Solutions Inc., Xena Networks and Yokogawa Electric Corporation.