Around 70% of FWA service providers in both North America and Europe are offering services over 5G, according to Ericsson
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) connections worldwide are forecasted to reach 300 million by the end of 2028, up from 100 million connections at the end of last year, according to the latest edition of Ericsson’s Mobility Report.
Of the 300 million projected connections, nearly 80% are expected to be over 5G, according to Ericsson.
The Swedish vendor also stated that over 100 service providers are currently offering FWA services over 5G networks.
Ericsson also noted that FWA technology is experiencing a solid growth in terms of the number of mobile service providers offering FWA, the proportion of those offering the service over 5G as well as in the proportion of providers with speed-based tariff structures.
The report revealed that around 80% of providers currently have an FWA offering, up from 77% in November 2022. Ericsson said that around 40% of FWA service providers are offering the services over 5G networks.
“Speed-based tariff plans are commonly offered for fixed broadband services such as those delivered over fiber or cable. This type of plan is well understood by consumers, enabling service providers to monetize FWA as a broadband alternative. Over one-quarter of FWA service providers now offer speed-based tariff plans. The remaining three-quarters are still best-effort, with volume-based tariff plans,” the vendor said.
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In North America, Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Middle East and Africa, over 80% of mobile service providers offer FWA.
“Currently, North America stands out as the region in which all of the service providers studied have an FWA offering. North America has the highest percentage of service providers offering speed-based tariff plans, with 90% of the total,” the report added.
The report also showed that around 70% of FWA service providers in both North America and Europe are offering services over 5G.
“Higher volumes of 5G FWA in large, high-growth countries such as India have the potential to drive economies of scale for the overall 5G FWA ecosystem, resulting in affordable CPE that will have a positive impact across low-income markets,” the report added.
Ericsson highlighted that the number of FWA connections in APAC is expected to nearly triple, increasing its share of global FWA connections from 36 to 46% by 2028.
In its report, Ericsson said that 5G subscriptions are expected to reach 1.5 billion this year on a global basis.