New Revenue Drivers Explored at 4G/5G FWA Industry Summit

Centering on how to monetize 4G/5G networks by FWA service and how to accelerate the FWA industry, Huawei’s 4G/5G FWA Industry Summit at MBBF 2020 wrapped up last week. The main topics covered were:

1. Sharing Business Successes
2. Exploring Industry Collaboration

Twelve speakers participated in the online summit, alongside 200 global participants from carriers, vendors, industry organizations, and industry chain partners.

This post gives the highlights from the speakers in the context of the industry as a whole.

4G/5G FWA: An Essential Service for Operators

After more than five years of rapid development, 4G/5G FWA is now one of the top choices for home broadband services. To date, 406 carriers have launched 4G FWA services, 40 carriers have announced 5G FWA services, and more than half of mobile carriers have launched FWA services. The number of 4G/5G FWA subscribers has topped 100 million worldwide.

Based on Huawei’s market analysis, 4G/5G FWA will grow by a CAGR of more than 30% in the next five years.

What the experts say:

“FWA has completed the phases of technology R&D and application cultivation in the market, and has already entered the phase of market-oriented rapid development. It is expected that FWA will develop at an even more rapid pace in the next two years.”

Will Zhang, President of Corporate Strategy, Huawei

“Consideringe fixed mobile convergence, regulatory frameworks should serve all kinds IMT services.”

Mohammad S. AlJanoobi, Director of Frequency Planning, CITC KSA

“With lockdowns putting unprecedented strain on both our networks as well as our capacity to see and serve our customers, we have not only managed to survive but thrive in this environment. Zain’s aggressive approach to gain 5G customers through standalone & family plans bolstered by superior coverage has helped us achieve strong growth.”

Fabricio Martinez, 5G Launch PMO, Zain KSA

“FWA is a new engine of growth for Telkomsel. We’ve created the all-digital customer journey to do faster & better service delivery & customer experience through the ‘DIY & Zero Touch’ concept, empowering more Indonesians through Connected Homes. ”

Arief Pradetya, VP, Fixed Wireless Broadband Business, Telkomsel

“FWA needs to take a further step to allow ubiquitous high-speed broadband coverage to provide fiber-like Internet access and add convenient services that add value to our customers’ lives. ”

Dr. Mustafa Karakoc, Head of Access Network Architecture, Turkcell

“FWA’s real value is much more than coverage, more than just expanding connections. It’s about services – video, voice, cloud, IoT – delivered into the home and enterprise. There’s a much larger market opportunity when we look at FWA through a service lens.”

Peter Jarich, Head of GSMA Intelligence, GSMAi

Promoting Industry Prosperity

Industry development has its own rules to follow. Tech R&D comes first, then developing manufacturing capability, and finally the new market can be cultivated. FWA development started with 4G, since which time the market has accumulated numerous 4G/5G FWA success stories. This shows that FWA has completed the phases of technology R&D and application in the market, and has already entered the stage of fast, market-oriented development. It is expected that FWA will develop at an even more rapid pace over the next two years.

What the experts say…

“Growth in FWA is now booming as the industry line up behind 4G & 5G. The formation of the new GSA 4G-5G FWA Forum will bring GSA’s experience to Fixed Wireless Access to help accelerate its development globally.”

Joe Barret, President, GSA

“The whole industry should consider how to make broadband  possible for everyone.”

Yoyo Chen, CMO, Tozed Kangwei

“5G’s wide bandwidth features and Massive MIMO technology provide ultra-fast user speed and very large cell capacity. This allows FWA’s user experience to be similar to fiber home

Wang YaoBing, Vice President, 5G Product Line, Huawei

Read more: The Wonders of 5G Beamforming

“The cellular solution is the most cost-effective and reliable connection solution for residential areas housing more than 200 people. Network vendors and terminal vendors are trying to reduce E2E costs for rural area coverage. It’s a good time for operators to talk to regulators about the sub 1 GHz spectrum for residents who aren’t covered.”

Zhang YiQu, General Manager of WTTx Product Line, Huawei

Click the link to read more about Huawei’s 5G solutions for carriers.

Disclaimer: Any views and/or opinions expressed in this post by individual authors or contributors are their personal views and/or opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or opinions of Huawei Technologies.