Transform Your Bottom Line: 5G Fixed Wireless Access 1

Transform your bottom line: 5G Fixed Wireless Access

2 Transform Your Bottom Line: 5G Fixed Wireless Access

To get a sense of the future of broadband, consider this: Globally, around 29 billion connected devices are forecast by 2022, of which around 18 billion will be related to IoT.1

As consumers and enterprises add bandwidth-thirsty technologies like On-Demand Video on 4K TV or tablets, videoconferencing, Virtual and Augmented Reality and smart devices, demand will soon outstrip existing capacity. How will operators respond to the challenge of these growing broadband needs? Fiber is a common choice but crossing the last mile—the portion of the network

that reaches the user premises—with fiber is complex and capital intensive. Where no infrastructure exists, or the current infrastructure is not able to provide sufficient service, operators should consider 5G fixed-wireless access (FWA).

Rapid growth in demand for speed, bandwidth and reliability from small-to-medium businesses (SMB) and consumers does not necessarily translate to profits for operators. Customers expect an increased level of service—but will surely balk at a price increase. 5G fixed wireless access, alone or complementing existing technologies, offers a compelling solution.

5G-based FWA has the advantage of providing 10 to 100 times more capacity than 4G and supporting very high peak rates without requiring costly dedicated fixed facilities for each consumer.

Consumers can enjoy:

> Untethered Virtual Reality (wireless) > Virtual Reality with no lag time so viewers

don’t feel dizzy (thanks to low latency) > Downloading a full-length HD movie in

seconds > Rehearsing with their band remotely with

no lag > Running lots of high-bandwidth applications

at the same time with no issues

For businesses, 5G FWA will facilitate:

> Faster access to the cloud > Stutterless video conferencing > Broadband everywhere—in malls and

crowded areas like concerts, sporting events and festivals

> Smart vehicles, transport and infrastructure > Critical control of remote devices

These dramatic differences are not speculative. 5G radio makes use of new and often higher frequency bands in addition to and in combination with the bands used for legacy cellular technologies. Ericsson recently released the first 5G NR (New Radio) radio, which uses a technique called beamforming and MU-MIMO (multi-user multiple-input, multiple output technology) to achieve much higher user data rates and greater system capacity in the spectrum than legacy cellular technologies.

As the cost of devices and equipment drops with a growing 5G ecosystem, even better efficiencies are created. 5G FWA will enable robust services, in many cases with performance rivaling that of fiber, to meet the foreseeable needs for home and business use well into the future.

Seizing the opportunity of 5G with Fixed Wireless Access

Unreal speed, very real opportunity

Transform Your Bottom Line: 5G Fixed Wireless Access 3

5G economics are driven by a range of factors including density of homes or businesses, market share, in- versus out-of-region deployment, cell-edge speed (the speed experienced at the outer edges of the site), and consumer and business bandwidth demand.

The more homes covered by each site, the more fully operators can utilize the capacity of 5G. Delivering 5G FWA is more spectrum-efficient, so the cost per GB for 5G is far less than for 4G. The gear for 5G enables a throughput that is substantially greater than prior generations. For example, 5G FWA will utilize 400 MHz channels where earlier technology was limited to 20 MHz, delivering a 20-fold capacity improvement based on bandwidth alone. This efficiency could improve ROI by an order of magnitude.

Moreover, 5G FWA provides operators with a much broader degree of freedom, flexibility and faster time-to-market. Since they don’t have to lay fiber, when operators have imperfect information about market demand they can build coverage for all houses in a coverage area, and reserve the capacity to add subscribers as demand materializes. As a result, the burden of stranded fiber without demand is eliminated.

Unlike wired solutions, 5G fixed wireless can also handle mobility. As IoT devices and enhanced mobile broadband demand proliferates, operators will draw additional revenue from the same infrastructure.

Initial CAPEX with 5G is therefore lower than other technologies in most cases. As bandwidth demand grows, operators can add more sites or spectrum as needed, gradually expanding coverage and capacity as subscribers sign up. If business booms in the area, operators can scale sites even further.

Make your network flexible. And your business formidable.

Key 5G FWA advantages

> Low capital-intensive deployment

> Flexible capacity deployment

> Cost-effectively expands to meet demand

> Spectrum-efficient for lower cost per GB

> Addresses fixed access for homes and businesses as well as mobility

4 Transform Your Bottom Line: 5G Fixed Wireless Access

Ericsson’s work with our partner operators has shown that 5G FWA works best in markets with higher densities, such as urban areas. That does not rule out rural areas where there are often clusters of houses providing the right amount of density. In fact, in less dense areas, fiber, too, faces challenges. For rural carriers, lower spectrum such as sub-six GHz deployed with 4G/5G may be a more practical alternative.

Operators must consider a range of factors and ask key questions to evaluate the best role for 5G FWA in their business. Not all operators have the in-house knowledge and experience to engage in the analysis needed, however.

Is 5G FWA the answer for you?

Transform Your Bottom Line: 5G Fixed Wireless Access 5

Step One: Examine the business context

> What is your existing infrastructure, in and out of footprint?

> Where do you plan to grow geographically and by segment?

> What are the primary market and competitive trends within these segments?

> How is bandwidth demand evolving? > What are the likely risks and mitigation

strategies?

Step Two: Develop the investment case

> Is there a business case for 5G FWA? > If so, how can it best be utilized to improve the

economics of the access portion of the network?

> What are the key break points for 5G? > Will 5G help you respond to demand or should

you consider alternative fixed and wireless network modalities as well?

> What is the optimal mix of modalities across our target markets?

Step Three: Evaluate deployment scenarios and sensitivities

> Where will 5G FWA work best? Where is it not optimal?

> What potential scenarios can you envision? > What pricing and take rates will ensure a viable

ROI? > How might competitive response alter our

business case? > Where should you focus your investment? > What safeguards can you put into place to

future-proof your business case?

Step Four: Define the optimal deployment mix

> What would be the optimal mix of 5G alongside other technologies?

> Given your unique market and competitive situation, what’s your best course for investing in 5G Fixed Wireless?

How to build a cohesive 5G Fixed Wireless plan

Ericsson and inCode, a wholly owned but independent business strategy and technology consulting firm, work as a team to help operators understand the business case for next generation technology such as

5G. We partner with operators of all sizes in a four-step process that ensures that their 5G Fixed Wireless Access strategy fully aligns with their business. We guide our clients through a deep dive to:

Ericsson

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https://www.ericsson.com/5g-northamerica © Ericsson AB 2017

About EricssonWe are a world leader in the rapidly changing environment of communications technology—providing equipment, software and services to enable transformation through mobility.

Some 40 percent of global mobile traffic runs through networks we have supplied. More than 1 billion subscribers around the world rely every day on networks that we manage. With more than 37,000 granted patents, we have one of the industry’s strongest intellectual property rights portfolios.

Our leadership in technology and services has been a driving force behind the expansion and improvement of connectivity worldwide. We believe that through mobility, our society can be transformed for the better. New innovations and forms of expression are finding a greater audience, industries and hierarchies are being revolutionized, and we are seeing a fundamental change in the way we communicate, socialize and make decisions together.

These exciting changes represent the realization of our vision: a Networked Society, where every person and every industry is empowered to reach their full potential.