Wipro brings first of its kind Bluetooth testing facility to India

BANGALORE, INDIA: Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Ltd, has become the first company headquartered in India to be recognized as a Bluetooth Qualification Test Facility (BQTF) by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), the trade association responsible for publishing the Bluetooth specifications, administering the qualification program and licensing the Bluetooth trademarks.

A BQTF is formally recognized by the Bluetooth SIG as competent to perform those Bluetooth qualification conformance tests identified as "Category A" within the Test Case Reference List and Test Plan Generator.

To conduct the Bluetooth Protocol Conformance Testing, Wipro has launched a state-of-the-art test lab on the premises of its testing facilities at the Wipro Campus in Electronic City Bangalore, where it will independently test submitted products from Bluetooth SIG members around the world.

The testing lab was inaugurated by Andy Glass, CTO of the Bluetooth SIG and Gangadharaiah CP, senior VP and worldwide head of Testing Services, Wipro Technologies.

Trained engineers from Wipro will now test submitted products for conformance to Bluetooth Qualification tests’, using the well-defined and focused testing procedures created by the SIG. Bluetooth Qualification is the certification process required for any product using Bluetooth wireless technology and is a necessary pre-condition of the intellectual property license for Bluetooth technology.

Talking about the entry of Bluetooth technology enabled products in the Indian market, Andy Glass, CTO of the Bluetooth SIG said: “India is known for its strong software expert pool. Many profiles and the protocol stacks of Bluetooth- enabled products were developed in India. This market is influential in the Bluetooth Original Equipment Manufacturer automotive market and also in the Bluetooth mobile advertising.”

Further commenting on the SIG recognition of Wipro, he added: “We value Wipro’s long tradition and experience in managing Qualification programs as well as their infrastructure product testing. We are excited to have Wipro support the SIG qualification program and expect the Wipro Lab in India to be used by many SIG members.”

Gangadharaiah CP, Senior Vice President & Worldwide Head of Wipro Testing Services, affirmed: “Wipro, as the largest third party Testing Services organization, has always tried to invest in Centres of Excellence that build best practices and reusable assets. Our investment in the Bluetooth compliant Testing lab enables a vivid extension of our Product Engineering testing offerings in the mobile and wireless technology space.”

Market segments for Bluetooth technology have expanded significantly and use of the technology has expanded beyond headset and mobile phone applications to high-growth market segments including health and fitness and gaming. Gaming is now the second largest application in terms of Bluetooth shipments.

In 2009 alone, over 1,000 new Bluetooth enabled product designs were evolved and over 3000 Bluetooth enabled products were tested and qualified. Given such burgeoning market opportunities, the new facility promises to bring great opportunities for Wipro, especially as it is the only accredited testing facility in India at present.

All Bluetooth SIG members can now start submissions to Wipro.