On track to a brighter future

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1895-1984
The History of Wired Communication
1985-2015
The History of Wireless Communication
2016-
Future developments for IoT/5G
- IoT/5G: The Future of Communication
Anritsu Infivis History
Social changes surrounding the food industry in Japan

The History of Wired Communication

Responding to the Rise of IP NetworksIP measuring instruments that created a win-win relationship with our clients

Tackling the new issue of network quality assurance

1982 brought a new concept that completely overturned everything the world had known about networks up to that point: the Internet. The Internet works by connecting networks together on a global scale and sending data in packets using a communication protocol called IP protocol. Internet use grew rapidly in the late 1990s as it offered revolutionary new services such as email and web browsing under conditions that surpassed previous communication networks in almost every way: connections were cheap, data could be transferred easily and people could eventually stay connected at all times. But it did not come without problems. Delay assurance and bandwidth assurance were difficult to obtain with the packet communication used to operate the Internet. Eventually, services arose to maintain both to the greatest degree possible (best effort service), which in turn made it necessary to verify whether such services met these assurances.

(According to the Survey on Communication Usage Trends published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication on July 17th, 2015)

The birth of a smash-hit instrument that is still selling 15 years later

Data Quality Analyzer MD1230A

At that time, Anritsu had begun using the Internet on a company LAN but did not have any measurement technology for it. Our competitors had already begun selling Internet measuring instruments, and with steady growth predicted in that market, we needed to find a way to topple their stronghold. After much deliberation, we decided to focus on providing multiple functions in one box. At that time, our customers used one measuring instrument for their transmission equipment (router) and another for monitoring. Anritsu combined these two functions in one unit. Developed in 2001, the MD1230A Data Quality Analyzer could not only evaluate router performance but perform monitoring too. This was later followed by the MD1230B, which was designed for more advanced technology. Our data quality analyzers continue to sell 15 years later.

Building our win-win business model on a global scale

Building our win-win business model on a global scale At that time, IP networks had different aspects from those of the previous fiber optic or digital networks, and were mainly run by private IT companies rather than telecommunication operators. This made it difficult to ascertain the needs of our usual customer base, resulting in a series of problems during the course of the project. We knew that developing the product alone would take a long time, and we also knew that the market would not wait that long. We solved this problem by collaborating with a customer. We decided to make an investment in a particular customer company of ours and deepen our relationship. After conducting many measurement tests together, we finally perfected our product. It was a win-win business model – Anritsu obtained a more complete product and our customer received assurance via the measurement data that there were no issues in the transfer quality of their own products. Other customers also began to use the MD1230A to verify the performance of their IP devices, earning us the top market share in Japan as well as an excellent reputation overseas. Now that data traffic is much greater and there is a computer in almost every home, the MD1230A and other IP network measuring instruments from Anritsu play an essential role in the building of high-speed digital network infrastructure. Anritsu is one of the key players behind the popularization of the Internet and other IP networks.