Agilent bets big on LTE-Advanced technology

US-based measurement company Agilent Technologies Inc is betting big on the Indian market with its industry’s first LTE-Advanced signal generation and signal analysis solutions, according to Gautam Awasthi, general manager (marketing – electronic measurement group).

“We have already started seeing customers for LTE-Advanced. Right now, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Intel’s mobile communication group and Motorola are doing research based on this technology out of India, and most of these R&D will be rolled out to their global customers. We expect this list (customers) to grow,” he told Business Standard.

LTE (long-term evolution) is a 4G wireless communications standard developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which is designed to provide up to 10 times the speeds of 3G networks for mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, netbooks, notebooks and wireless hotspots.

“As 4G is being rolled out in India, we need more equipment to comply with the LTE standards. So, test needs for those equipment will also increase, a huge potential that we are going after,” Awasthi said.

Bharti Airtel had the first-mover advantage by launching its LTE-4G services in Kolkata recently. While Reliance Infotel, which is the only service with pan-India 4G spectrum, has already conducted trials for both Wimax and LTE, state-owned BSNL and MTNL, Aircel, Qualcomm and Tikona Digital are expected to follow suit.

Stating that Agilent saw a very bright future for 4G in India, Awasthi said the company’s LTE and LTE-Advanced technologies can help get connectivity in areas, especially rural India, where wires cannot be laid. “These technologies come in handy to get the hinterlands connected, wirelessly,” he added.

According to him, the test and measurements market worldwide, including electronic measurement, lifesciences and chemical analysis, is currently pegged at $40 billion, and is growing at five to six per cent year-on-year. Of this, the electronic measurement segment is estimated to be anywhere between $20 billion and $25 billion.