US : NetTest, a leading global provider of testing, monitoring, and management solutions for advanced and converged networks, has received the prestigious 2005 Frost & Sullivan Award for Competitive Strategy Leadership as a result of industry-leading performance by its MasterQuest platform in the global market for wireless network monitoring systems.

Frost & Sullivan's about to be released report/study on World Wireless Network Monitoring and Protocol Analyzer Markets finds that NetTest grew its wireless network monitoring revenues by 180 percent in 2003 despite a 2.6 decline in total category sales by all suppliers. Frost & Sullivan cites a continued focus on third-generation UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) networks, a direct distribution strategy in major markets, and a corporate focus on an industry segment in transition as factors driving NetTest's market-leading performance.

"The company dedicated one of its three business units to this area of wireless network infrastructure, and has developed and delivered commendable solutions after having listened to its customers," said Jessy Cavazos, industry analyst, Frost & Sullivan. "We view NetTest as a company in a better position than ever to help network operators simplify the deployment and troubleshooting of 3G networks, and to address wireless end-user needs."

Over the past year, NetTest increased its MasterQuest customer base significantly by signing contracts with 17 new wireless operator customers in 13 nations. Some of its UMTS customers include H3G in Italy, a Tier One North American operator, a Europe-based Tier One and global operator, and a leading operator in the Middle East.

"With a distributed and open system that addresses network convergence such as MasterQuest, strategic alliances to provide an OSS solution, and a first mover advantage in the market, NetTest is poised for growth in the wireless network monitoring market," Frost & Sullivan reports.

According to many industry analyst firms, 3G commercial network rollouts and service launches are expected to gain momentum from late 2004 into 2005.

"Our experience with large scale deployments and service assurance places NetTest in an excellent position to help even more of today's 2G and 2.5G networks confidently transition to their 3G-oriented services of the future," said Jorgen Weber, vice president and head of the Systems Business Unit of NetTest. "We are pleased to be recognised by the industry's leading experts for our latest technical efforts and for the market penetration that has been realised through close collaborations with our customers."

UMTS technologies used in 3G networks cause a significant increase in network complexity, in the number of network elements and in signalling traffic. New media services such as video calls, streaming video and Web browsing increase subscriber focus on, and demand for, quality of service. MasterQuest provides performance information on critical services and revenue streams, helping to pinpoint the causes of service-affecting failures, increase network performance and reduce expenses.

According to the Frost & Sullivan study, "the MasterQuest solution from NetTest is scalable and has a high price-performance ratio. The system has an open and distributed architecture, is scalable in nature, and can work in conjunction with other OSS systems. Applications include network troubleshooting, interconnect management, fraud detection, and network and service performance monitoring."

MasterQuest supports all of the latest interfaces and protocols used in wireless networks, and offers the broadest range of network, service and customer centric applications, allowing various departments within a network operator's organisation to benefit from its implementation.