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Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) has been a growing success for telecom globally. This is an important development given 5G’s sluggish start to capturing new consumer spend.
The numbers speak for themselves: more than 200 5G FWA commercial deployments with rollouts from the U.S. to India, Brazil, and Sub-Sahara Africa, support more than 40 million connections. Ericsson expects 330 million total connections by 2029.
This momentum is the result of a solid service that can deliver on increasing connectivity requirements as average download speeds in developed markets like North America top 140Mb/s. There’s also openness to speed-based tariffs – a boon in a market where unlimited and volume-based models have challenged revenue growth.
Yet, we’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible with FWA. Telecom has proven it can competently deliver a competitive, revenue-generating service in areas hungry for a viable high-speed connectivity service with a global average revenue per user (ARPU) upwards of $45 per month. Now, it’s time to expand monetization opportunities by focusing on quality of experience (QoE) improvements and guarantees, upsell programs, and new markets ripe for disruption.
In this blog, we’ll explore the steps telecom can prioritize to accelerate FWA revenue growth.
Four focus areas for FWA revenue growth
Spirent recognizes four paths to revenue growth for telecom operators ready to capitalize on FWA’s full potential:
Upsell consumer users. Having met basic connectivity needs in the home, operators can entice users with performance-based services that build on existing subscriptions. This includes offering speed boosts of on-demand for services like gaming, application-specific SLAs for performance-sensitive apps like video conferencing, premium video bundles, multi-view experiences for special events, and mission-critical services like home security.
Offer a 5G Standalone-powered premium tier. With existing FWA deployments already delivering competitive performance when compared to incumbent offerings, the foundation is laid to capture a premium audience with a value-added service supported by the 5G Standalone (SA) network. 5G SA is the foundation for some of the most transformative and potentially lucrative 5G use cases such as cloud gaming and extended reality.
Own the great indoors. Consumers spend most of their time indoors and consume over 80% of total data there, with many opting for Wi-Fi via cable or Fiber to the Home (FTTH) given 5G signal penetration issues. Offering 5G FWA via 5G/Wi-Fi CPE can increase ARPU potential by attracting and retaining mobile data users and addressing their overall connectivity needs. Opportunities include upselling densely populated urban markets, competitively targeting cable subscribers, or going after stagnant markets that haven’t yet been disrupted by FTTH services.
Entering enterprise markets. More than 20 operators globally have already launched 5G FWA services targeted toward businesses. SLA-based offerings that guarantee availability, reliability, and performance can provide new growth opportunities, serving small- to medium-sized businesses that want a fiber alternative, enterprises that need connectivity in remote or temporary locations, continuity support for critical industries, and the military.
It’s important to note that each of these opportunities hinges on telecom’s ability to make performance strides via enhanced QoE. While speed is important, customers care most about the quality of experience delivered for activities like streaming video and gaming. This will play a key role in 5G FWA customer satisfaction and retention.
Addressing 5G FWA performance shortcomings
In a recent survey of FWA and cable-based high-speed broadband users, customers said service experience was more important than speed when selecting a provider and upgrading packages.
Streaming video quality was the top telecom NPS-driven (NPS = Net Promoter Score) issue for consumers, with gaming quality quickly rising. Given social media use dominates browsing and application use, performance is a priority concern.
While FWA has checked the box on supporting generic home connectivity needs, growing pains exist on the technical front. Common complaints include connection issues, slow speeds, service drops, and user-perceived app issues.
Our testing of 5G FWA networks reveals several culprits that must be addressed before additional monetization opportunities can be pursued:
Frequency band issues. Performance degradation can occur during busy hours when FWA services share frequency bands with mobile networks, particularly affecting premium services like gaming.
Equipment configuration challenges. Wi-Fi load sharing on 5G CPE devices sometimes results in heavy users dominating the connection, leading to poor performance for other household users.
Interference. Close proximity between 5G and Wi-Fi frequency bands causes interference, negatively impacting data and video performance.
Testing strategies that unlock 5G FWA’s full value
Unlocking 5G FWA’s monetization potential means making user experience testing a priority. Operators must ensure QoE aligns with consumer expectations to drive adoption, increase satisfaction, and grow revenues.
Unlocking 5G FWA’s monetization potential means making user experience testing a priority.
Our work on this front with operators globally has revealed several testing priority areas that should be targeted:
QoE benchmarking. End-to-end user experience tests assess perceived quality across commonly used services to ensure performance expectations are met.
5G/Wi-Fi co-existence. Test performance degradation in environments where 5G and Wi-Fi signals coexist to understand how gateway performance can be optimized for a seamless user experience.
Mesh. Emulate real-world home environments to test signal steering and ensure 5G FWA-powered mesh networks in the home deliver strong and consistent coverage.
Reliability. End-to-end user equipment testing, 5G-only, and keep-alive tests that measure uptime, IP renew rates, and long-term performance can help bolster service reliability requirements that instill customer confidence and ultimately reduces churn.
Compatibility. Data compatibility across the typical mix of devices found in a residence should be verified to ensure smooth functionality.
Features. Test router features and functions to validate that all aspects of the service work as intended and provide a premium user experience.
5G FWA offerings are poised to meet the needs of an expanding subscriber base to drive retention and capitalize on new revenue streams.
First, critical but surmountable shortcomings must be addressed. Identify them with the right testing strategies that help reveal how service offerings should be improved.
Learn more. Read our “Advanced 5G Fixed Wireless Access and Wi-Fi Testing Solution” brief today.
