National Broadband Network (NBN), established in 2009 by the Commonwealth of Australia to design, build and operate a wholesale broadband access network for the continent, is facing increasing competition from fixed wireless access (FWA) providers, according to BNN. Optus and TPG are matching NBN’s 50 Mbps speeds with 5G FWA that is priced at $10-$15, well below NBN’s average monthly fee of $85.
The publication notes a similar trend is at work in New Zealand, where the state-sponsored broadband service provider is losing market share to 5G FWA.
Shipments of FWA indoor and outdoor CPE were expected to increase by 31 percent during 2023, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report, to reach almost 25 million units. Indoor devices are forecast to reach 21.6 million units, equaling a yearly growth of 34 percent.
“FWA data traffic [was] forecast to represent 19 percent of global mobile data traffic at the end of 2023, and is projected to grow by a factor of more than 5 to reach 159 million terabytes in 2029 – close to 30 percent of total mobile network data traffic,” Ericsson writes.
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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