Market researcher Frost & Sullivan predicts that sales of fiber-optic test equipment will grow to $884.9 million in 2020. According to the firm's latest report, the market will benefit from fiber-to-the-antenna (FTTA) applications as well as the overall bandwidth demand increase that long term evolution (LTE) deployments will create, helping the case for 100G and 400G fiber-optic networks.
Frost & Sullivan reports that the fiber-optic test equipment market reached $603.8 million in 2013. The firm says that integrated or platform-based test instruments are gaining momentum, while fiber inspection probes also did well, accounting for approximately $45 million in sales last year.
See also: Quick-start guide to Fiber-to-the-Antenna (FTTA)
The increase in fiber associated with mobile backhaul and other wireless activity, from FTTA, fiber-to-the-tower (FTTT), distributed antenna systems (DAS), and cloud or centralized-radio access networks (CRAN), will help drive the need for fiber-optic test sets, according to the research. But other factors also will increase instrument sales.
"The proliferation of electronics and reduction in chip sizes will also augment the demand for innovative test technologies," comments Frost & Sullivan Measurement and Instrumentation Program Manager Sujan Sami. "One such potential opportunity lies in micro-structure fiber and hollow fiber with higher non-linear limits."
New fiber-optic connector technologies also will prove a catalyst, according to the new report, entitled Analysis of the Global Fiber Optic Test Equipment Market. Learn more.