Mobile Network Drive Test Equipment Market

Mobile Network Drive Test Equipment Market Analysis

The Mobile Network Drive Test Equipment Market size is estimated at USD 6.17 billion in 2025, and is expected to reach USD 9.11 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 8.1% during the forecast period (2025-2030).

Rising smartphone penetration, the deployment of 5G NR, and the addition of a slew of newly connected network equipment are expected to open up new market opportunities and necessitate new drive testing requirements.

• Drive testing is a process of measuring and assessing a mobile radio network's coverage, capacity, and Quality of Service (quality of service). Typically, the equipment consists of highly specialized electronic devices that interface with OEM mobile handsets. Despite the pandemic, the market is expected to gain traction, driven by the fastest 4G and investments in 5G network deployments.
• The market is driven by a rising telecom subscriber base and increased R&D activities globally. Furthermore, the fast deployment of the 5G network and the increasing popularity of software-defined testing are major factors expected to drive the mobile network testing equipment market throughout the forecast period.
• According to Ericsson, approximately 8.4 billion mobile subscriptions were expected by the end of 2022, which is expected to rise to about 9.2 billion by the end of 2028. As a result, the increasing use of mobile networks is expected to boost the demand for testing equipment, allowing several vendors to meet demand while maintaining a competitive edge in the market.
• Network connectivity continues to evolve rapidly, from 2G to 3G, 4G, and now 5G. The rise of high-capacity networks with improved mobile broadband and ultra-reliable low-latency communications necessitates more rigorous 5G NR drive testing. Continuous R&D activities for producing 5G testing devices that are industry-compliant and more application-oriented are expected to boost the market over the forecast period.
• Moreover, one of the major applications driving the demand for network testing equipment is network benchmarking. Drive testing is the only way for mobile network operators to collect accurate competitive data on the actual level of their own and their competitors' technical performance and quality levels. Drive test benchmarking tools simultaneously measure multiple network technologies and service types to provide comparable information about competitive strengths and weaknesses.
• The rapid advancement of technology in networking and communication is a significant factor driving the growth of the test equipment market. Furthermore, the growing acceptance of IoT devices, the introduction of 5G technology, and the deployment of 4G networks will provide ample opportunities for the drive test equipment market. For example, the government-owned telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) announced it would receive INR 44,720 crore (USD 5.98 billion) in February 2022 for capital investment in the 4G spectrum, technology investments, and organizational restructuring. Such investments will likely drive the market.
• Rising disposable income and the development of 5G technologies are also expected to drive market growth. However, the high cost of test equipment may limit market growth.

Mobile Network Drive Test Equipment Market Trends

Adoption of 5G NR is Expected to Drive the Market

• The deployment of 5G NR networks raises the need for drive test equipment to support a variety of test scenarios such as initial network launch, service launch network expansions, optimization and troubleshooting, and benchmarking. The network's embedded intelligence drives a shift from reactive testing to more predictive and proactive testing probes with more machine learning algorithms for new 5G NR measurements.
• Due to rising IoT and connected device usage, 5G applications continue to grow steadily. Several industry verticals are aggressively committed to 5G technological morphosis to improve operational efficiency and productivity in an intensely competitive environment. The market for Drive testing equipment is expected to be driven by continuous research and development activities for producing 5G network solutions.
• The rise of high-capacity networks with improved mobile broadband and ultra-reliable low-latency communications necessitates more rigorous 5G NR drive testing. Rising spending on 5G infrastructure deployment due to a shift in customer preference for next-generation technologies and smartphone devices is one of the major factors driving the market for various applications.
• Most 5G networks are currently deployed in the 3.5 GHz spectrum band, increasing the need for drive testing and propagation model tuning. Manufacturers in the 5G NR testing equipment industry are working hard to improve the technology to meet the demand for increased bandwidth applications and high-speed internet requirements arising from bandwidth-intensive applications. Such investments in 5G deployment activities are expected to fuel demand for drive testing equipment.
• For instance, Because of smart city initiatives and 5G deployment, China is anticipated to be the growing market for mobile network drive test equipment. According to the GSMA, 5G will account for 88% of mobile connections in China by 2030, with 4G accounting for the remaining 12%. According to the 2022 World 5G Convention, Chinese telecom operators invested YUAN 401.6 billion (approximately USD 59.4 billion) in 5G. Such factors will necessitate the use of mobile network testing equipment.
• Moreover, rapidly rising smartphone demand, combined with faster internet speeds, has resulted in a surge in the production of 5G-enabled smartphones across the region. This overall scenario is driving up demand for test equipment. According to Ericsson's new Harnessing the 5G Consumer Potential report, the global 5G consumer market could be worth USD 31 trillion by 2030. Furthermore, according to the GSMA, 5G networks are expected to cover one-third of the world's population by 2025. Such advancements and investments in the rollout of 5G across multiple countries are expected to boost the market for mobile network drive test equipment.

North America to Hold a Significant Market Share

• North America is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period. Major market participants in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and others are expected to prioritize deploying 5G network infrastructure for various industry verticals. These investments are expected to propel the North America market's growth over the forecast period.
• Companies in the region are investing in research and development to incorporate 5G technology into smartphones and other applications to improve network performance. The region is also expected to see a high demand for 5G services due to the growing demand for faster data speeds across various applications and a high demand for Mobile network drive testing equipment.
• Moreover, rising government initiatives on digital integration via Information Communication Technologies (ICT) are expected to fuel the region's telecom market growth, opening up several market opportunities for the Mobile network drive testing equipment market. For example, the United States Innovation and Competition Act authorized USD 1.1 billion in funding for 5G mobile networks and innovation. Such initiatives will propel the market forward.
• According to Ericsson, 5G commercialization is accelerating, and service providers in the United States have already launched commercial 5G services focused on fixed wireless access and mobile broadband. More than 195 million 5G subscriptions are expected in the United States by 2026, with 5G accounting for approximately 71.5% of the total U.S. mobile market by 2029. Such factors will drive investments in the 5G rollout, creating market opportunities for providers of drive-testing equipment.
• According to the GSMA, 5G is expected to reach 100 million mobile connections in early 2023 and is expected to be the country's leading mobile network technology by 2025, with more than 190 million 5G connections (accounting for roughly half of total mobile connections). Furthermore, by 2025, 5G will likely account for nearly two-thirds of total mobile connections in North America, amounting to nearly 280 million connections. Such factors and developments in networking technologies are expected to drive market demand.
• Moreover, the introduction of 5G opens up a slew of new opportunities for the market. For example, Ericsson and the Government of Canada announced a five-year investment partnership worth more than CAD 470 million (USD 352.6 million) in April 2023. Ericsson's 5G Advanced, 6G, and Ericsson Canada have also partnered in the national ecosystem network to encourage 5G adoption and collaboration in Canada. Such investments are expected to propel the market forward.

Mobile Network Drive Test Equipment Industry Overview

The electronic shelf label market is fairly consolidated, with a few vendors controlling a sizable portion of the market. Keysight Technologies, Rohde & Schwarz, and others are among the key players. These players use product launches, collaboration, and partnerships, among other strategic initiatives, to gain a competitive advantage in the global market. Moreover, several vendors' activities in rolling out 5G infrastructure and investments are also expected to drive the market.

In April 2023, Keysight Technologies announced the opening of Europe's first complete open radio access network (Open RAN) testing laboratory in the company's Milan office in Italy. This employs the Keysight Open RAN Architect (KORA) for radio unit testing by the most recent O-RAN ALLIANCE conformance tests. Keysight can help accelerate virtualized platform deployment to meet the stringent demands of 5G Open RAN by conducting early testing during the development cycle.

In February 2023, Nokia announced that its network technology and services assisted Telia Denmark in recent independent drive testing in the four largest cities in the country. The tests, conducted by umlaut, a subsidiary of Accenture, an industrial and organizational advisory research and benchmarking firm, assessed the quality of the country's mobile radio network coverage. Telia Denmark receives equipment from Nokia's most recent energy-efficient 5G AirScale portfolio, core network, and managed operations support.

Mobile Network Drive Test Equipment Market Leaders

Mobile Network Drive Test Equipment Market News

• February 2023: Rohde & Schwarz has announced the release of the next-generation benchmarking solution, which includes the Benchmarker 3 data collection platform and a set of unique features that will enable MNOs to reduce complexity and costs while gaining more value from their collected data. Rohde & Schwarz network benchmarking solutions enable mobile network operators and regulatory authorities worldwide to transparently and systematically assess and improve the quality and performance of mobile networks to improve end-user perception.
• April 2022: Precision Drive Testing was announced by Infovista, a global vendor in network lifecycle automation (NLA), to bring an ML/AI data-driven approach and automation to network testing, significantly reducing the cost and time of 5G network testing. Precision Drive Testing, a patent-pending technology, uses 5G network, service, customer data, and ML/AI techniques to improve the speed and accuracy of the 5G testing process. By measuring and benchmarking end-user experience, Infovista's Network Testing Portfolio enabled network and service performance quality evaluation, troubleshooting, and optimization.