At the Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2024 (MBBF 2024) in Istanbul, an exclusive ELITE FWA Club Media Roundtable discussed the potential for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and 5.5G, which is also referred to as 5G-Advanced or 5G-A technologies across the GCC.
The high-level roundtable featured the rotating chairpersons of the ELITE FWA Club's sub-groups on Experience Management and Service Innovation, representing stc Kuwait and Omantel, respectively. Alongside them were leaders from the SAMENA Telecommunications Council and Huawei.
Bocar Ba, CEO and Board Member of the SAMENA Telecommunications Council - a platform that advocates for private sector investment in digital development - and Edwin Wang, Vice President of Global 5G Marketing and Solution Sales at Huawei, led the discussion. Citing FWA as one of the key success stories of 5.5G, they began by focusing on new use cases for the technology, particularly in the enterprise space.
Ba noted that the Gulf states adopted 5G at a very early stage and stated that 5.5G would unleash the technology’s full potential to connect ‘everyone, everything, everywhere.’ As the digital transformation process delivers widespread industrial IoT and AI-enhanced networks, the Middle East market will be ready – Ba observed that operators such as stc Kuwait, e& and du had already adopted certain 5.5G use cases – as the technology presents a huge opportunity in terms of business models, revenue streams, and user experience. 5.5G will also enable new experiences across industry verticals, such as healthcare and education, and digital transformation is a component of this.
Asked if FWA could be a solution for last-mile connectivity, Wang said that 5G had already demonstrated that FWA was a viable use case for the faster speeds available. The additional capacity offered by 5.5G will mean that operators can offer a fibre-like experience through FWA, with a peak throughput of 5-10Gb to boost user experience in terms of speed. More important than speed, argued Wang, are the services that speed networks can enable – these help customers see the value of 5.5G, as well as increase operator ARPU to make their businesses more successful. In certain scenarios – if an operator has the right spectrum capabilities and strong planning – FWA can be an effective last-mile solution.
Ba asserted that FWA plays a central role in connecting the unconnected. Around 36% of the world’s population - 2.6 billion people - have no access to connectivity, and addressing this will require investment from the private sector. Therefore, it must be profitable, and this is where FWA comes into play – particularly in populated areas that aren’t connected. It provides high-speed broadband at a much lower cost than optical fibre, making it a meaningful alternative for connectivity in remote or underserved areas, allowing enterprises in these areas to benefit. From an investment perspective, it creates less of a capex burden on operators, and it opens new services and experiences for the user.
With the current speed of deployment, SAMENA expects to see around half a billion people worldwide be connected through FWA technology – this is an opportunity for the private sector, so SAMENA is working with governments and regulators on policies that will incentivise investment and provide agile regulatory frameworks to support widespread deployment of FWA by service providers.
Wang noted that Huawei is developing new use cases for FWA, particularly in the corporate sector. He said that FWA would be an ideal backup solution for SMEs in the event of fibre outages, adding that Huawei has released a RedCap (reduced capability) 5G CPE, which can significantly reduce the cost of 5G equipment, making 5G FWA more accessible and attractive to a wider range of consumers. Wang also noted that networks must be well-prepared ahead of AI adoption. Currently, most network planning is based on general mobile use via downlink, but this behaviour will change in the AI era. AI multimodal functions will require greater uplink resources and lower latency, and operators will need advanced networks to meet these challenges.
Ba stated that 5.5G will enhance areas such as digital education, which was essential during the pandemic. The technology will enable meaningful connectivity via virtual classrooms, but there are many other sectors that will benefit from 5.5G on a global level, such as healthcare. Ba explained that 5.5G will facilitate the 10-gigabit society concept, noting that in this scenario, for one connected subscriber, there will be 10 connected devices.
5.5G will enable billions of devices to be connected in a small area of around one square kilometre, and as we head into a data-driven economy, there will be a tsunami of data on networks. Connectivity must be meaningful not just in terms of application but also bandwidth – if the unconnected 2.6 billion are connected as we move into the era of smart, intelligent cities, this will dramatically increase the ratio of connected devices per person. In this scenario, 10-gigabit connectivity will be the minimum requirement to reap the benefits of digital development and ensure everyone has meaningful connectivity.
Wang added that while speed is important, coverage is the main factor – fibre cannot be delivered everywhere due to time and budget constraints, but FWA can extend fibre-like connectivity to these areas. 5.5G enables more affordable connectivity to households and businesses, as well as consumers.
The Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2024 (MBBF 2024) was recently concluded in Istanbul, Türkiye, with the theme "5.5G Leads Mobile AI Era". Hosted by Huawei with support from our industry partners GSMA and GTI, the event brought together more than 1,000 guests from mobile network carriers, ecosystem players, and leaders from vertical industries to discuss a wide range of topics, from business model innovation to industry development and key technological directions in the Mobile AI era.
This forum was established to promote the convergence of 5.5G technology and intelligent applications, aiming to create greater value for the mobile industry. The year 2024 marks both the commercial launch of 5.5G and an unprecedented expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) into our daily lives and work. Globally, over 3 million AI-capable applications have been developed, surpassing the total number of non-AI apps available in app stores. The early rollout of 5.5G aligns with the first year of AI adoption in various devices, making this moment significant as it signals the beginning of the Mobile AI era.
During the forum, Huawei launched 5G-AA solutions, which build multidimensional ultimate network capabilities through the full-series Advanced Radio, enable full-domain site digitalisation through Ambient Site, and achieve L4 network autonomy through the Agent-based digital engineers team. With such advanced performance, these solutions are poised to help operators meet the ever-diversifying demand for services in the Mobile AI era.
