Competition
The market for field verification test equipment is fragmented and intensely
competitive, both in and outside the United States, and is subject to rapid
technological change, evolving industry standards and regulatory developments.
We compete with a number of United States and international suppliers that vary
in size and in the scope and breadth of the products and services offered. The
following table sets forth our principal competitors in each of our product
categories.
Product Category Principal Competitors
---------------- ---------------------
Digital Subscriber Line TTC (a division of Dynatech, Inc.) and Agilent Technologies, Inc.
Fiber Optics SONET/SDH Digital Lightwave, Inc., TTC and Agilent Technologies, Inc.
Cable TV Wavetek Wandel Golterman, Inc. and Agilent Technologies, Inc.
Signaling Inet Technologies, Inc. and GN Nettest
On February 14, 2000, Dynatech and Wavetek announced the merger of TTC to
Wavetek, which could have the effect of making the combined company a more
formidable competitor. We expect that, as our industry and market evolves, new
competitors or alliances among competitors could emerge and acquire significant
market share. We anticipate that competition in our market will increase with
the result that we will face greater threats to our market share, price
pressure on our products and the likelihood that, over time, our profitability
may decrease.
We believe that the principal competitive factors in our market include:
. a continued high level of investment in research and development and
marketing;
. speed of new product introductions to market;
. depth of product functionality;
. ease of installation, integration and use;
. system reliability and performance;
. price and financing terms;
. technical support and customer service;
. size and stability of the vendor's operations; and
. compliance with government and industry standards. |
