The number of mobile broadband services users worldwide has seen a slower increase than that of fixed network users in the past three years because of the stay-at-home economy induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the trend prompted several 5G telecom operators to commercialize their fixed wireless access (FWA) services to compete for customers with fixed networks, according to DIGITIMES Research's latest study.
As more telecom operators are becoming less willing to invest in the commercialization of 5G services and 5G's high-frequency characteristic is creating difficulties for operators to deploy broad coverage of networks, 5G is only expected to account for less than 40% of the overall FWA connection by 2026 with 4G remaining the mainstream technology for FWA services.
Figures from International Telecommunication Union (ITU) show mobile and fixed broadband users had CAGR of 14.8% and 7.1% for the period from 2012-2021, but during 2019-2021, the number of fixed network users enjoyed a CAGR stronger than that of mobile broadband users.
Since the number of 5G mobile broadband users did not grow as strongly as expected, many operators have accelerated their development in the 5G FWA business. In the first quarter of 2021, only 17 new operators entered the 5G FWA business compared to the same quarter a year ago, but in the first quarter of 2022, the increased number of operators was 34 and the overall number of the operators is expected to come to 115.
In the past, 3G/4G FWA networks are used as an alternative option to the fixed network for rural areas as costs for deploying fixed networks at the places are rather high compared to wireless broadband networks. However, 5G FWA's massive MIMO and medium- to high-frequency transmission have given the technology advantages to compete against traditional fixed network operators for customers.
US-based telecom carrier T-Mobile saw its FWA user number reach over 1.5 million as of the end of second-quarter 2022 after announcing to start 5G FWA services at the beginning of 2021. T-Mobile achieved CAGR of 72% for the number of its FWA service users during the period from the fourth quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2022, while US-based fixed network providers AT&T and Comast only had user CAGR of 4.7% and 0.6% during the same period, respectively.
Within T-Mobile's 5G FWA users, 54% are from areas that were dominated by fixed broadband service providers, 23% from areas dominated by optical fiber/DSL telecom carriers, and 24% from areas dominated by local ISPs, showing that the 5G FWA business is already threatening the operation of fixed network service providers.
