5G FWA CPE costs will fall significantly, thereby improving the business case for mid-band roll-outs
"The cost of 5G FWA CPE, particularly for that using mid-band spectrum, will fall significantly, which will act as an important incentive for mid-band 5G FWA deployments."
5G fixed-wireless access (FWA), using either mid-band or mmWave spectrum, promises to be an upgrade to 4G; many 5G FWA operators are offering unlimited data plans as well as improved speeds. However, the cost of 5G FWA CPE could have a negative effect on the 5G FWA business case, partly because it may make FTTP deployments relatively more attractive and also because it may discourage operators from deploying 5G FWA instead of 4G FWA. In this article, we assess the factors that affect the cost of 5G FWA CPE and discuss how quickly this cost is expected to fall.
Related items
Article
Jio’s rapid FWA RGU growth shows a potential for FWA to boost broadband in low- and middle-income markets
Tracker
Fixed broadband and voice quarterly metrics 1Q 2025
Podcast
How operators can respond to the threat of low-cost challengers