5G Fixed Wireless Broadband Deployments Set to Accelerate in 2020

5G has been the hot topic in the telecommunications industry in 2019, with network launches by operators from different markets. 5G fixed wireless broadband is clearly one segment of 5G networks that has gained high attention in the industry since the launch of Verizon’s 5G Home Broadband in 4Q 2018. Since then, device vendors, chipset makers, and service providers have entered or are planning to enter the market in the near future. The latest 5G fixed wireless broadband service commercial launch, which made 290 5G network sites alive in Australia, was announced by Optus. Optus soft-launched 5G fixed wireless broadband to select customers in early 2019 and is now providing 5G mobile and fixed broadband services in its 5G coverage and planning to expand its 5G network to 1,200 sites by March 2020.

Verizon was the first major operator to launch 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) service in October 2019. Sunrise entered the 5G FWA market with the launch of its service in April 2019. It was followed by O2 in the Czech Republic with a soft-launch of 5G internet for home using 3.7 GHz in April 2019. In 3Q 2019, U.K. operators, EE, Three UK, and Vodafone announced 5G-based fixed wireless broadband services.  Finnish operator Telia joined the 5G FWA market in October 2019. In Middle East and Africa, Rain from South Africa and Ooredoo in Qatar have announced the launch of 5G FWA services as well. In Asia-Pacific, Globe Telecom announced its 5G FWA service based on 700 MHz band in mid-2019.  Many more operators, including Deutsche Telecom, Fastweb, Orange, Telefonica, and T-Mobile, are working on trials of 5G FWA services in partnership with infrastructure vendors.

Chipset and device makers are also getting ready for the 5G FWA market. Qualcomm has been providing Snapdragon X50 for 5G FWA since 2016 and introduced Snapdragon X55, which supports 5G NR TDD and FDD and is designed for both mmWave and Sub-6 GHz bands, in early 2019. Qualcomm recently boasted that it has more than 30 Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) integrating its Snapdragon X55 5G modem into their Customer Premises Equipment (CPEs). Other chipset makers, including Huawei-owned HiSilicon, Intel, and Mediatek, have also introduced 5G FWA chipsets. In the device space, a few vendors, including Huawei, Nokia, Samsung and ZTE, have already introduced 5G fixed wireless broadband CPE and many more vendors are now developing modems and gateways.

Fixed wireless broadband has mainly been deployed to connect unconnected households and businesses with the fixed broadband platform. 5G technology brings the use case of fixed wireless broadband access to the next level. Its high bandwidth and low latency capabilities open opportunities for service providers to offer high speed broadband service and compete against existing fixed broadband platforms. 5G enables service providers to provide a fiber-like experience in last-mile connectivity without needing to lay fiber-optic lines all the way to residential households. Especially in the developed markets where fiber-optic broadband penetration is still low, such as North America and many markets in Europe, 5G FWA will play important role in supplying fiber-like broadband access. Based on operators’ ongoing 5G network roll outs and Qualcomm’s OEM partnerships, it is expected that in 2020 more 5G FWA CPEs will enter the market and 5G FWA deployments will accelerate.

In order to maximize Return on Investment (ROI), service providers may focus on high density urban areas to initially deploy 5G FWA. Service providers can cover more households in a cell site in urban areas due to population density. Since fixed broadband penetration is already high in urban areas, consumers are willing to get a fiber-like service if Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) is not yet covered in their locations. Therefore, service providers can take advantage of 5G network capacity to market the 5G FWA service to fulfil the demand for super-fast broadband in urban households.

mmWave can be a good choice to support gigabit speed broadband in urban areas. However, due to propagation limit, when using mmWave it might be challenging to expand coverage in a short time. Sub-6GHz can be an option when planning to expand network coverage in a shorter time frame compared to mmWave. The next stage of deployments could target suburban areas where population density is lower than urban areas and fixed broadband connectivity is equally high but there is lower fiber-optic broadband penetration. Sub-6GHz can be a better option for deploying 5G FWA in this type of location. Since the choice between mmWave and sub-6GHz will depend on spectrum availability and deployment scenario, CPE makers need to develop devices that support both spectrum bands. In addition, CPE makers need to support both indoor and outdoor CPE to fit the deployment conditions. As 5G FWA is set to accelerate in the years to come, the ability to provide better User Experience (UX) will become a critical differentiation factor in the highly competitive market. The ability to make customized devices with different features, such as the integration of next-generation Wi-Fi, Internet of Things (IoT) applications, and home network management features, can enable service providers to provide the most suitable devices depending on market demand and stand out among their competitors.