The explosion of network traffic in China is forcing network operators and network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) to seek higher-speed technologies to break the bandwidth limit. The proliferation of higher bandwidth applications has popularised 10GbE networks, while the 40/100GbE market is also anticipated to witness considerable growth. Owing to the rapid uptake of these networks, the Ethernet test equipment market is expected to exhibit double-digit growth rates till 2018.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Chinese Ethernet Test Equipment Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $109.5 million in 2011 and estimates this to reach $264.9 million in 2018.

The rising adoption of cloud computing is driving both private and government organisations to datacentres for a higher degree for business continuity and security.

Further, the extra bandwidth created by the mushrooming of smart terminals and the widespread application of data/video/voice services is compelling service providers and NEMs to move toward Ethernet technology. This movement offers significant opportunities to test vendors.

Despite its obvious benefits, some end users are deterred by Ethernet's high prices, especially in the current straitened circumstances. In the 1GbE and 10GbE test equipment market, service providers and carriers are the biggest end-user groups. Therefore, their cost consciousness affects the market for test equipment.

"Due to the increasing price-performance ratio of instruments, test equipment vendors are competing on price while offering the highest level of product performance," said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Wei Wei. "In addition, they offer specialised customer service and technical support to ensure quality of service."

Test equipment vendors continuously improve their high-end products to deliver higher-bandwidth Ethernet testers and push the limit of current network infrastructure. Therefore, they constantly invest in R&D to keep pace with technological advancements.

The market will also get a leg up from the proposed a triple-play service that will converge telecommunications services, broadcasting, and the Internet. They will also gain from operators moving away from traditional time division multiplexing (TDM)-based mobile backhaul networks to Ethernet mobile backhaul to scale and simplify provisioning and management.

"Additionally, the deployment of a 10G passive optical network for mobile backhaul traffic will boost the Ethernet test equipment market," noted Wei. "Telecom infrastructure upgrades enhance the need for testing and thereby, push up the sales of Ethernet test equipment."