Pre-5G and 5G technologies together with high demand from the connected car industry and advancements in wireless communication standards are driving industry expansion in the radiofrequency (RF) test and measurement (T&M) market, according to Frost and Sullivan.
In a new report, the analyst firm predicts that Asia Pacific will be the largest and fastest growing region for RF T&M vendors, with estimated revenues of $1.99 billion by 2023.
“Asia has become the manufacturing hub of the world and holds special importance for vendors, but it is also making inroads in research and development (R&D), which will further increase its importance going forward,” Frost & Sullivan measurement and instrumentation industry director Jessy Cavazos explained.
Meanwhile, North America and Europe will benefit from wireless technologies. Growth in these regions will be bolstered by R&D activity around new wireless communications standards, the connected car and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
The five major growth opportunities in the RF T&M market, that are expected to generate over $30 billion in new revenues by 2023, include:
1. Connected car and autonomous driving: Infotainment systems have evolved tremendously and are now at the core of the value proposition of automakers. Adoption of wireless communications standards like LTE and Wi-Fi is driving demand for more RF testing, and important R&D investments are being made in automotive radar and target simulation.
2. 5G: Extensive ongoing research on 5G technologies is increasing demand for RF T&M equipment and will continue to do so over the forecast period. Demand will go to higher frequencies in the long term to the detriment of the
3. Modular instrumentation: The penetration of modular electronic instrumentation is expected to continue to align with the multi-channel nature of upcoming end-user technologies; the CAGR from 2016 to 2023 for the modular RF T&M market is 14%.
4. Asia Pacific: Asia Pacific is expected to witness higher growth than other regions, which will drive an increase in its share to 43.2% in 2023.
5. IoT Devices: Market participants expect narrowband IoT and mobile IoT standards such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), LTE-M and SigFox LoRa to create a new part of the market. This trend translates into an increase in parallel testing and generates a market for low-cost instrumentation.
Cavazos noted that “Market development is being impinged upon by RF instruments having a high price tag, especially high-end test equipment used in R&D applications. Companies across industry verticals are facing customer and competitor pressures to reduce prices, which is spreading throughout the value chain.”