5G fixed Broadband 2022, "5G FWA" reason for concern (my navigation news)-Yahoo! Journalism

FWA-like services that use mobile networks as an alternative to fixed broadband have been provided by companies

Although it is difficult to expand the scope of effective use of 5G, but as a means of its use, recently attracted much attention is "FWA", mainly as an alternative to fixed broadband lines. The trend of using 5G as FWA is being promoted not only in mobile phone companies, but also in fixed communication operators. [picture] NTT DoCoMo's first FWA service "home5G" takes advantage of the worldwide attention of 5G FWA in 2020, which is considered difficult to use due to various factors, and the use of unlimited Wi-Fi environment using 5G high-speed communication does not require construction. In 2021, since the second half of the year, the urban-dominated areas have gradually expanded, and the corresponding smartphones have been expanded not only to high-end models, but also to low-cost models, and their use is also expanding rapidly. But on the other hand, I am also concerned that the scope of effective use of 5G is not large. Before the 5G was commercially available, people had been promoting things like autopilot and telemedicine, but judging from the way the 5G was used, smartphones would communicate faster, isn't it honest? Of course, the current 5G network is in a state of development, and the network itself needs to evolve for applications other than smartphones, so it will take time. Having said that, new uses of 5G seem to be slowly emerging, and recently, as a representative example, "FWA" has attracted much attention. FWA is the abbreviation of "Fixed Wireless Access". The key is to use wireless communication as an alternative to fixed broadband lines. As a service equivalent to FWA, there are services based on 4G technology, such as "SoftBank Air" by Softbank Corp. and "UQ WiMAX" by UQ Communications Company. Because they can import lines that do not require construction and can communicate at high speed, they have gained a certain popularity. In addition, FWA attaches great importance to high-speed and high-capacity communication, so it can give full play to its performance in the current development of 5G. Perhaps because of this situation, the trend of using 5G in FWA is gradually expanding around the world. Ericsson, the communications equipment giant, also predicted in the Ericsson Mobility report published in November 2021 that the FWA using 5G will expand rapidly in the future. Through the use of local 5G, fixed operators also join the FWA, compared with other countries, optical lines are laid in vast areas of the country, and so on, the fixed broadband environment is quite superior, the demand for FWA is not so great. On the other hand, there are many cases where it is difficult to get such a favor. That's a collective house. In particular, in the old collective housing, there is no equipment to introduce optical lines, and even if pulled in, the lines on campus are VDSL, and there are many cases in which the communication speed is limited to a maximum of 100 Mbps. People living in such houses can not benefit from optical lines even in cities. Because of this, there is a lot of domestic demand for FWA. With the popularity of 5G, various mobile phones have also made greater efforts on FWA. NTT DoCoMo offered "home5G" to join FWA in 2021, which can be said to be its signature move. However, collective housing that cannot introduce optical lines is not only for mobile phone companies, but also for fixed broadband operators, there are also a lot of customers they want to get. We can't afford to watch silently as those customers are taken away by mobile phone companies, and recently there has been a situation in which fixed broadband operators are offering FWA. Therefore, the focus is on "local 5G". Local 5G is a mechanism by which operators other than mobile phones can build 5G networks with limited locations. Use it as the last mile of fixed broadband to provide broadband lines for collective houses that cannot be pulled into optical lines. In fact, Sony announced on November 29, 2021 that it would join the local 5G business. NURO Wireless 5G will provide broadband services to take advantage of local 5G collective housing around the spring of 2022. "NURO" is known as the fixed broadband service provided by Sony Network Communications, a subsidiary of Sony Group. Sony Group has set up a new local 5G subsidiary, which will provide FWA services using NURO network. Other operators have seen similar movements, including the network communications company that manually connects apartment Internet services and its parent company, Altlia Networks, as well as options known for fixed broadband "eolight" and MVNO's "mineo". It was announced on December 21, 2021 that field testing of the local 5G of the apartment would begin. In terms of its content, it uses Alteria Networks's Internet lines and optional local 5G equipment to provide Internet services in the apartment, promote communication quality verification, and focus on commercial services. It can be said that this trend is likely to be extended to fixed broadband operators and regional cable companies of independent systems in the future. As a result, the competition for FWA between mobile phone companies and fixed-line operators is likely to become fierce in 2022. Sano Masahiro was born in Fukushima Prefecture and graduated from Tohoku University of Technology. As an engineer engaged in digital content development, turned to mobile phone, mobile professional writer. Now, from industry trends to culture, he is engaged in writing in a wide range of fields related to mobile phones.

Sano Masahiro