Validation of increased efforts by carriers to improve the quality of service of their still-expanding wireless networks recently came in the form of ramped up announcements, including financial and product news, from wireless test and measurement companies.
Last week, test equipment company Agilent Technologies Inc. received good news from Standard & Poor’s, as the ratings agency upgraded its outlook from negative to positive. S&P cited the company’s improved profitability, liquid balance sheet and revenue growth.
“Agilent has sharply improved its profitability over the past three quarters following an extended period of loss,” noted S&P’s credit analyst Joshua Davis. “A continuation of current operating performance could result in a higher rating within a few quarters.”
The improved ratings followed second fiscal quarter 2004 results, which the company said reflected the highest order and revenue levels of the past three years. Orders for the company’s Test and Measurement division were up 23 percent from a year ago at $745 million. Agilent said orders were up in all regions and all markets except wireline telecommunications.
Shares of Agilent were trading at $25.24 per share at press time Thursday.
In separate news on the company, Clark, N.J.-based wireless 2 business integration (w2bi) announced support for Agilent’s 8960 Series 10 Wireless Communications Test Set within its Quikprobe automated testing product.
In the combined solution, Quikprobe will automatically coordinate and set network emulation parameters in the Agilent 8960 to match the requirements of test scripts.
“Integrating these complementary products combines the strength and expertise of both our companies,” said Murray Bartlow, strategic marketing manager for Agilent. “Our mutual customers can look forward to receiving increased value as a result of the relationship with w2bi.”
In more positive financial news for the sector, TestQuest Inc. said it has experienced a 35-percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in its mobile and wireless business during the past three years. The company credits its focus on its flagship automated testing solutions for the strong growth rate and believes it will continue throughout the company’s current fiscal year.
“These results validate our focus on the mobile and wireless industry and put us firmly on the road to market leadership,” said Martin Hahn, TestQuest’s president and chief executive officer. “We intend to build on this success throughout 2004 and beyond. Testing will only grow in importance to the mobile and wireless industry as companies enhance products and aggressively compete for market share.”
TestQuest’s flagship offering is its TestQuest Pro Platform testing tool, which simulates human use of mobile devices and networks. Key to the solution is TestQuest’s TestVerb Technology, which provides the test automation architecture, methodology and script development environment for the development, maintenance and re-use of the solution. The platform includes industry-specific test vocabularies and pre-built commands, in addition to defined coding standards and best practices.
In addition, to complement its overseas growth, TestQuest announced it has appointed Alexander Levi to the position of senior vice president of worldwide sales. Levi has 23 years of experience in the software solutions field, most recently with Segue Software Inc.
In other growth news for the sector, Comarco Wireless Test Solutions has opened new offices in Brazil and China to provide carriers there with equipment to optimize the quality of service of their networks.
“The creation of these offices is an important part of Comarco’s business strategy and a demonstration of the importance that the company attaches to employing sales and support personnel who are local to the customer,” said Greg Maton, senior vice president at Comarco.
The company appointed Milton Yoshimura and Johnson Li to head up the offices. Yoshimura, who will lead the Brazil office, has almost 30 years of telecom engineering and management experience in Latin America, with companies including TWS, Vesper, LLC, Nextel and Mobitel. Li, who will head up the China office, has 20 years of engineering, marketing and management experience with companies including ASCOM Asia-Pacific Ltd. and Conexant Systems Inc.
Comarco was trading down slightly at $7.39 per share Thursday, following an announcement it would delay the release of its first quarter results for fiscal 2005, originally expected that day, because its accounting firm had not completed its review of the results. Comarco said the earnings release will be rescheduled “within a short period of time.”
Finally, Netcordia Inc. and Willtek Communications Inc. each made improvements to their existing solutions.
Netcordia said its NetMRI system level diagnostic tool, which provides analysis for enterprise networks, now includes capabilities for wireless local area networks and virtual private networks.
NetMRI discovers wireless access points on a network, then monitors and analyzes their configurations and behavior. The solution detects security issues as well as operational issues allowing for easy troubleshooting and quick time to repair.
Willtek meanwhile announced the 4468 EDGE System Option for its Willtek 4400 Mobile Phone Tester Series, which it said will allow for enhanced testing and alignment of the transmitters of new EDGE-capable mobile devices.
