5G fixed wireless access (FWA) is seeing performance improvements enabled by 5G and the use of mmWave spectrum, making it a competitive solution compared to other technologies in the fixed broadband market, according to a GMSA Intelligence report.
The report examines the different fixed broadband technologies available in the market, providing context for the overview of recent developments in 5G FWA networks. Finally, it looks at the key cost drivers of each technology as well as the total cost of ownership model used for the reports findings.
FWA is one of the promising 5G use cases because it can place FWA in direct competition with the main wireline alternatives available such as fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) networks, according to GSMA.
“For operators looking to grow revenue beyond smartphone data, it also represents an incremental opportunity to maximize the value of existing network assets,” GSMA Intelligence said. “While FWA solutions have been available since the late 1990s, they are logically seeing a lot of renewed interest. The official buzzword is wireless fiber.”
The fixed broadband market has been growing in most parts of the world, according to the report, and has been boosted by the COVID-19 related shift to working from home, the report said. Video streaming with social networking and gaming accounted for 58 percent of global internet traffic in 2020.
“This has brought to the fore the importance of robust, high-speed fixed broadband infrastructure and the need to deploy it in a timely and cost-efficient manner, in developed and developing countries,” GSMA Intelligence said.
U.S. carriers are on board with FWA. In the third quarter, Verizon added 55,000 FWA users for a total of 150,000 total subscribers on FWA at the end of the quarter. T-Mobile has added Inseego’s (Nasdaq: INSG) Wavemaker 5G indoor router FX2000, which provides dual-band WiFi 6 that can connect up to 30 WiFi enabled devices. However, AT&T is not emphasizing FWA, according to press reports.
Wim van Thillo, CEO and Co-Founder at Pharrowtech, called FWA the “silver bullet” for providing communications to developing nations, such as sub-Saharan Africa, in a piece for Telecoms.com. “Specific problems need specific solutions, and sub-Saharan Africa’s connectivity challenges cannot be solved with a European approach,” he wrote. “While urban fiber deployments in Western Europe have brought gigabit broadband to many for the first time, it is simply not the best tool to give that same access to high-speed connectivity to African citizens.”
“FWA and 5G, deployed in combination, are that specific solution for deploying fast and reliable internet at a low cost across challenging terrain – and supporting Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic development,” he added.
The global 5G Fixed Wireless Access Market size is projected to reach $158 billion at a CAGR of 106 percent in 2028, according to Emergen Research. This steady revenue growth can be attributed to the deployment of advanced technologies such as Machine To Machine and Internet of Things connected devices, according to the Canadian market research firm, with North America accounting for the largest revenue share contribution to the global 5G fixed wireless access market in 2020.
By J. Sharpe Smith Inside Towers Technology Editor
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