Fixed Wireless Access: Providing a Fiber Alternative

Fixed wireless access (FWA) is not a new concept; solutions have been around for more than two decades but have only had limited applications because performance has been too limited to support mainstream consumer applications, such as home broadband. Before the arrival of 4G, FWA was confined to specific applications, connecting small numbers of devices such as meters and sensors. However, the arrival of 4G and in particular higher performance variants such as LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) has made the technology viable and 5G, where available, takes FWA to a new level. 

The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) reports that LTE FWA offers a mean peak download speed of 98.4Mbps while 5G FWA offers a mean peak download speed of 587.6Mbps. These are not maximum theoretical figures but actual speeds gathered from 292 LTE operators and 33 5G operators by the GSA. It’s clear that, while operators don’t often talk about FWA in terms of speed promises, 5G offers a vastly superior level of performance and can provide a real alternative to fiber connectivity for home internet. In trials in the UK, for example, a 5G FWA millimeter-wave service has been shown to deliver download speeds of around 1Gb per second. 

The potential and market challenges of FWA are explored in the new Quectel whitepaper ‘Why fixed wireless access can provide a fiber alternative with rapid rollout’. The paper shares details of Quectel’s comprehensive range of modules which helps facilitate the design and production of FWA CPE such as routers, gateways, and fixed 4G/5G repeaters, and looks at how FWA is becoming a competitive force against slower and more expensive wireline alternatives.