5G Connectivity: How FWA Devices Are Transforming Wireless Networks

The global demand for fast, reliable internet has increased significantly in the past decade, with people expecting strong connectivity and wanting to be able to do a lot more with their wireless solutions. However, traditional broadband and 5G connectivity have posed challenges for many rural and underserved areas, resulting in the need for more innovative wireless solutions. Dr. Ali Sadri, CTO at Airgain discusses how Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) devices are the key to meeting the rising demands of consumers, reliability and high performance.

As the demand for high-speed and durable internet continues to increase globally, the emergence of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) technology is the key to bridging the digital divide in connectivity and also has the capability to transform how wireless networks operate.

Where 5G has had challenges in reaching remote or underserved areas with high-speed connectivity and has been expensive to reach with fiber optic cables, FWA promises to deliver high-quality internet without the need for physical infrastructure. Using 5G, FWA technology provides internet access by wirelessly connecting homes and businesses, especially in rural and suburban areas and allows network operators to quickly extend network coverage without the need for laying new cables.

A new wave of FWA devices in recent years has addressed many of the challenges we’ve seen with 5G access and the market is poised for exponential growth over the next five years as more devices are developed to serve as a cost-effective alternative to fiber-based broadband.

With FWA devices there are no worries over high-quality internet to support bandwidth-heavy applications for remote work, telehealth services or online education. They also make installation simpler and can reduce the cost to telcos by hundreds of thousands of dollars by using existing infrastructure and reducing the need for installation or deployment costs. This in turn ensures the costs are kept low for consumers, ensuring the cost is not passed onto the end-user, and benefits the growth of service providers.

Boosting performance

FWA technology provides high-speed and low-latency connection and utilizes a variety of radio frequencies from the mid-band to mm-wave, in order to provide significantly faster data speeds and wider coverage. Devices, particularly those equipped with beamforming technology and advanced antenna systems, help optimize the signal strength and performance for end users, which ensures reliable high-speed internet, even in areas where indoor coverage from mobile 5G signals might be weaker.

Combined with the latest Wi-Fi technology—like Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)—FWA can have elevated levels of overall performance. Wi-Fi 7 offers wider channels, faster data rates, and Multi-Link Operation (MLO), which boosts network efficiency while minimizing latency. As a result, FWA can deliver stable, high-speed connection across multiple devices, ensuring smooth experiences for online activities, such as video streaming, gaming and controlling smart home devices.

ABI Research forecasts that by 2025, FWA could account for 40% of all broadband connections in the US, with Ericsson's Mobility Report projecting that the global FWA market will reach 300 million connections by 2029, making it a serious competitor against traditional broadband. These figures demonstrate the significant growth and adoption potential of FWA, underscoring the rising demand for more reliable and high-speed connectivity.

The advent of 5G FWA has transformed the telecommunications industry by providing an alternative to traditional wired broadband but has also had an impact on other industries and communities too. In the healthcare sector, FWA has been instrumental in expanding telemedicine as more healthcare providers offer services like remote consultations, monitoring, and diagnostics. For this, reliable internet connectivity is crucial and FWA provides the bandwidth necessary to enable video conferencing, real-time data transmission, and cloud-based medical systems.

In education, it has been instrumental in offering e-learning. This came to the fore during the Covid-19 pandemic when students were forced to learn from their homes but FWA has provided reliable connectivity for students and teachers living in regions without strong broadband infrastructure to ensure they still have access to online classes and academic resources.

Other sectors to benefit from FWA include agriculture with smart farming, manufacturing by automating factories and also in retail by enabling e-commerce businesses to improve connectivity and customer experience.

FWA technology has proven transformative across many industries by providing high-speed, scalable, and reliable internet connectivity without the need for traditional infrastructure. Whether it's enabling rural broadband, powering IoT applications, or supporting these critical sectors, FWA has reshaped the digital landscape and improved access to essential services and technologies.

Changes in FWA deployment

Earlier FWA technologies naturally encountered some challenges with wider deployment, including high equipment costs, regulatory issues, complex installation, and inconsistent signal strength and interruption caused by physical obstructions.

There is greater signal attenuation over distance for higher frequencies, therefore making them more susceptible to interference of physical obstructions such as buildings, vegetation or even heavy rain in some cases. The majority of earlier FWA devices were designed for indoor placement, requiring signals to propagate through barriers such as glass and concrete, compromising speed and end-user experience.

In urban environments, signal interference from other wireless devices, neighboring base stations, or even household devices has also been known to degrade FWA performance. However, innovation in the technology now has led to significant improvements in all of these areas, enhancing performance, reliability, and ease of deployment. Newer FWA devices offer easy-to-configure and self-install connections and are now more accessible to consumers to improve the overall end-user experience.

Outdoor FWA solutions are marking a significant leap forward, addressing many of these issues. Airgain is one of the first companies to develop a self-install outdoor antenna device, which not only reduces physical obstruction issues but also eliminates the need for complex on-site technical support, dramatically reducing deployment costs. It comes with a mobile app, a cloud-based management system and AI-driven optimization to improve self-installation.

Designed to be plug-and-play and paired with a mobile app for easy configuration and cost-effectiveness, users can remotely manage their smart devices, virtually changing the direction of the antenna to boost the signal, but built-in algorithms can also dynamically optimize the signal, maximizing speed and reliability. This helps open up the technology to a wider audience and allows more people to benefit from the advanced connectivity.

Modern FWA devices support higher frequency bands, from frequencies 24 GHz and above, which offer significantly higher capacity and faster data rates. These frequencies can deliver gigabit-speed internet, comparable to fiber-optic connections. Some newer FWA systems also operate on mid-band spectrum (e.g., C-band), which provides a good balance between range and speed.

The future expansion of broadband access

With global FWA revenues projected to exceed $20 billion by 2026 (Dell’Oro Group), continued development of cost-effective solutions is crucial to ensure broader adoption, while also offering urban and rural areas access to the highest quality connection possible and improving a much-improved end-user experience.

The future of FWA looks promising, driven by ongoing advancements in wireless technology, spectrum availability, and the growing demand for high-speed broadband in underserved areas. As 5G networks continue to roll out globally, FWA will increasingly be used to deliver broadband services to homes and businesses, further bridging the digital divide in hard-to-reach communities and reducing operators’ overall spending on infrastructure.

Globally, telcos are seeing significant reductions in their deployment costs as FWA devices and smart antennas use existing infrastructure and apps that enable easy installation and management. Further advancements in technology could push the boundaries of FWA further, delivering multi-gigabit speeds, instantaneous response times, and enhanced coverage. The integration of 6G is also expected to further minimize interference and signal degradation challenges.

As FWA technology continues to evolve, it’s poised to play a major role in expanding 5G and even 6G access across the world, delivering high-speed internet and bridging the digital divide to underserved areas. Improved FWA performance will open it up to more use cases, particularly in the business and enterprise sectors.

The growth of smart cities will only lead to a greater demand for FWA as millions more devices require strong, reliable connectivity and as the technology continues to develop and mature, so too does its capabilities. The future of FWA is bright and ever-evolving and it will be pivotal in connecting more people, businesses and communities worldwide.