5G Fixed Wireless Market: A Battleground for Cable vs. Mobile

By AIT News Desk On Apr 15, 2021

Mobile Experts publishes analysis ahead of $2 Trillion Federal Infrastructure plan

Mobile Experts released an Expert INSIGHT this week that will be key for market players interested in the expansion of 5G into fixed broadband.

With some significant milestones like the C-band auction now behind us, major mobile network operators are putting some concrete plans around their ambition to address adjacent market opportunities, including fixed home broadband.

“T-Mobile has communicated that it plans to serve 7-8 million residential broadband subscribers through its 5G network by year-end 2025,” commented Principal Analyst Kyung Mun. “We have been exploring the ascendancy of 5G fixed wireless access as well as the growing prospect of fixed-mobile intermodal competition for some time. Our analyses have documented a home broadband market via 5G fixed wireless that offers a tangible market opportunity. Operators must carefully consider long-term consequences, and the opportunity cost of dedicating 5G network capacity toward home broadband, which consumes about 50x more data usage than a mobile subscriber.”

Two years ago, Mobile Experts published an Expert INSIGHT titled ‘The 5G Dual Mandate,’ exploring whether a mobile operator should serve both fixed wireless and mobile services on 5G. In their 2019 5G Business Case report, the analyst firm closely examined the comparative “cost-per-GB” unit economics. This latest publication finishes a trilogy of critical market research for market players with an interest in 5G fixed wireless.

“With mobile operators providing more concrete plans around their goals for extending 5G network for home broadband market, we use this latest INSIGHT as an expansion on 5G fixed wireless access as a prospect and take an even deeper look at the techno-economic analysis of 5G fixed wireless access.”

The report highlights U.S. mobile operators stated plans and goals. It examines 5G fixed wireless access capabilities and the chance of competing against today’s cable DOCSIS broadband technology. The report projects where and when they may expand their fixed wireless subscribers, and how the competitive dynamic will play out in the context of a possible $100 billion broadband investment as part of the $2 trillion infrastructure plan being discussed in the halls of the U.S. government.

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