Consumer Electronics Drives Oscilloscope Market

The market for oscilloscopes earned over $1.15 billion in 2005 and will likely grow to nearly $1.7 billion within five years, according to a report from Frost & Sullivan. While military and aerospace industries have always fueled the oscilloscope market, growth of consumer electronics sectors like automotive and industrial have greatly contributed to growth, according to the report. "Most countries in Asia Pacific continue to witness growth in terms of construction and infrastructure expansion as a result of economic growth driven by consumer markets," Prathima Bommakanti, senior research analyst, said in a statement. "Given that China and India represent the two most populated countries in the world, they offer immense growth opportunities in the automotive, telecommunication, and electronic industries." Trends in oscilloscope purchasing include a shift from analog oscilloscopes to digital ones as cost of digital drops, thus boosting revenues from digital oscilloscopes. Significant investments in research and development have also driven the oscilloscope market. "In the high-resolution digitizer market, which forms the largest segment in the total oscilloscopes market, the need for a higher number of channels in addition to the conventional four has led to several vendors competing to offer a greater number of channels in their oscilloscope offerings," Bommakanti said. "As technology improves and the functionality of test equipment increases, end users become accustomed to purchasing test sets with greater capabilities across a range of technologies."