UScellular, in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies and Inseego, has launched its 5G mmWave high-speed internet service in parts of 10 cities. The carrier's Home Internet+ solution delivers speeds of up to 300 Mbps, an increase of 10-15 times compared to its 4G LTE home internet offering, and is a significant milestone in its multi-technology approach to providing High-Speed Internet solutions.
UScellular's Home Internet+ is delivered by the Inseego Wavemaker™ FW2010 outdoor 5G CPE, powered by the Qualcomm® 5G Fixed Wireless Access Platform Gen 1 featuring Snapdragon® X55 5G Modem-RF System, and provides high-speed internet access wirelessly to customers' homes or businesses. This Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) service is available now in parts of East Moline and Rock Island, Ill.; Bettendorf, Cedar Falls, Davenport, Dubuque, and Waterloo, Iowa; Yakima, Wash.; and Beloit and Janesville, Wis.
Throughout 2022, UScellular plans to increase its Home Internet+ service within those cities and expand to dozens more in both urban and rural areas, including Springfield and Tipton, Mo., Knoxville, Tenn., Kenosha, and Milwaukee, Wis.
With its massive capacity and quick deployment time compared to other wireline options, 5G mmWave is an affordable and accessible solution to expand broadband services to help bridge the digital divide. UScellular's Home Internet+ service enables seamless video conferencing with hundreds of participants, as well as simultaneous streaming of shows, music, and gaming.
In order to harness the powerful benefits of 5G mmWave for UScellular's next-generation internet service, Inseego is leveraging the Qualcomm 5G Fixed Wireless Access Platform Gen 1. This product provides a comprehensive, fully integrated modem-to-antenna 5G solution, which is engineered to streamline product development for multiple mobile broadband product categories, including sub-6 GHz, mmWave, and extended-range mmWave CPE devices. The Qualcomm 5G Fixed Wireless Access Platform Gen 1 is also designed to provide operators and OEMs, like Inseego, with the technology capabilities they need to tackle wireless complexity while enabling them to offer a diverse product portfolio to their customers.
The Inseego Wavemaker FW2010 outdoor CPE delivers multi-gigabit download speeds for data-hungry applications. It connects to a Wi-Fi router to provide secure and reliable internet access for numerous devices throughout a home, business, or office. With exceptional 5G cellular antenna performance, the FW2010 can extend mmWave coverage many miles away from a cell tower. It also supports 5G sub-6 GHz and Cat 22 LTE, making it great for a wide range of locations and applications.
"At UScellular, we are passionate and motivated to deliver on our mission of connecting people and communities to what matters most to them," said Mike Irizarry, executive vice president, and chief technology officer for UScellular. "This FWA solution is key to providing customers affordable and reliable in-home connectivity no matter where they live, and we look forward to expanding it to more areas in 2022 and beyond."
"This expansion of delivering high-speed internet to untapped cities is a testament to Qualcomm Technologies' efforts to bridge the digital divide," said Gautam Sheoran, vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "By equipping operators and OEMs with cost-effective, last-mile technologies, we are able to empower end-users and enterprises with best-in-class 5G connectivity for homes and businesses, including those in previously underserved areas."
"UScellular is committed to delivering first-class broadband experiences for their customers and to support the growth of connected communities. We congratulate them on this milestone launch," said Inseego CEO Ashish Sharma. "The record-breaking performance of our Inseego Wavemaker FW2010 enables UScellular to unlock the vast potential of its 5G mmWave network and extends the reach of high-speed, high-capacity FWA broadband services to residential and business customers."
This launch follows a friendly user trial that began in Janesville, Wis., in 2021 and builds upon field testing that demonstrated the speed and range that 5G mmWave technology is capable of providing customers.
