GSA Monthly Pulse - July edition
GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association)
The Industry Voice of the Global Mobile Ecosystem
Insights from the FWA Forum Plenary
In Issue 3 of the GSA Monthly Pulse newsletter we feature a deeper dive into the area of Fixed Wireless Access following on from the GSA 4G-5G FWA Forum Plenary which took place on 19th June. Forum participants, including operators in South Africa and Indonesia, shared their experiences when addressing some of the common challenges they faced in successfully implementing fixed wireless access services.
Among the areas the GSA Research team released reports on over the past month the latest data on Private Mobile Networks was made available to all members. Click on the link in the article below to access up-to-date deployment numbers as well as data on which sectors are leading the way in adoption.
In the coming month we will be focussing on the topic of 2G/3G sunsetting and what the implications for 5G broadcast will be – don’t forget to register for our 30-minute Snapshot webinar on this topic taking place on 23rd July at 4.00pm UK. There are more details and a link in the Upcoming Events section below.
- Joe Barrett President, GSA
Fixed Wireless Access Update
Latest GSA data reports that of the 312 operators that had announced 5G launches or soft launches worldwide by end of May 2024,164 are marketing residential or business 5G FWA broadband services, up more than 300% from 41 in November 2021. But what are the common challenges that these operators face??
In the recent Plenary of the GSA 4G-5G FWA Forum, which you can watch in-full on demand here, Brandon Leigh , Founder and CEO of rain South Africa , and Akhmad Madces , VP of RAN Engineering Projects at Telkomsel , shared their experiences.
During an engaging discussion moderated by John Yazlle , they provided insight into the complexities and strategies for the successful implementation of fixed wireless access services.
Brandon Leigh emphasized the importance of approaching FWA deployment as an integrated, end-to-end solution rather than as isolated components. Unlike traditional mobile networks, 5G FWA requires careful consideration of mid-band spectrum frequencies, building penetration issues, and the use of massive MIMO technology. Rain's approach involves developing unique data models for accurate coverage predictions and capacity modelling. Leigh noted that consumer expectations for seamless connectivity mean that any shortcomings in the FWA service could harm the operator's reputation. To address this, Rain has invested in designing its own Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) to ensure optimal performance and integration with its network, treating the CPE as an essential extension of its network infrastructure.
Akhmad Madces from Telkomsel discussed the challenges of providing FWA in Indonesia, a country with vast and varied topographies. Telkomsel's strategy includes using fixed wireless access as a complement to fixed broadband, particularly in rural and underserved areas where fiber deployment is not feasible. Telkomsel has divided its home wireless access strategy into four territorial approaches to effectively address different market needs. They focus on leveraging their extensive spectrum holdings and massive MIMO technology to deliver high-capacity, cost-effective connectivity. Additionally, Telkomsel emphasizes the importance of collaboration with government and industry stakeholders to reduce spectrum costs and improve local content, ensuring competitive pricing and quality service.
Both leaders agreed that a customer-centric approach is crucial. By focusing on experience management and ensuring efficient network performance, mobile operators can meet consumer expectations and maintain service quality. Investing in advanced customer care systems and ensuring seamless integration between fixed and mobile services are also key strategies.
Deploying 5G FWA services requires innovative strategies and a focus on integrated solutions. By leveraging real-time data, efficient spectrum use, and a customer-centric approach, mobile operators like rain South Africa and Telkomsel , together with an active vendor ecosystem, are successfully overcoming the challenges of 5G FWA deployment, ensuring the delivery of reliable, high-quality services to their customers.
The 6th Plenary of the GSA 4G-5G FWA Forum was sponsored by AsiaTelco Technologies Co. , POYNTING Antennas and Tozed Kangwei , and hosted by GSA 4G-5G FWA Forum Steering Team chair, Julien Grivolas .
About the FWA Forum
The GSA 4G-5G FWA Forum recognises the important role 3GPP-based 4G-5G FWA technologies play in offering a fast, economically attractive and future-proof alternative to deploying broadband services, particularly for rural and less densely populated areas. ?The membership of the FWA Forum?covers the majority of vendors from across the?infrastructure, chipset, module and CPE value chain for FWA.
For more information on how to get involved in the work of the FWA Forum and its deliverables to the industry, please visit:?https://gsacom.com/fixed-wireless-access-forum/
Download latest FWA market snapshot
GSA tracks the?market to determine the evolving?extent and nature of availability of FWA broadband services?based on LTE or 5G technologies worldwide.
The June report explores some of the high-level findings. The full?data set is available to GSA members. DOWNLOAD REPORT HERE
As more operator networks are upgraded to LTE-Advanced, more 5G networks are built out and more CPE devices, particularly those 5G-capable, are commercialised, GSA expects the number of FWA services to continue to rise, especially for 5G, with increasing demand from rural and underserved areas to access high-speed, reliable wireless connectivity. GSA Fixed Wireless Access Market Report (June 2024)
GSA 4G-5G FWA Forum Plenary - watch again!
In our latest report, Private Mobile Networks (June 2024), the GSA research team shares the latest data on deployments, of which 70% of references included?are non-public and unique to this database, submitted by members of the GSA Private Mobile Networks Special Interest Group (SIG).?
Demand for private mobile networks based on 4G LTE, and increasingly 5G?technologies, is being driven by the spiralling data, security, digitisation and mobility requirements of modern enterprise and government entities. Organisations of all types are combining connected systems with big data and analytics to transform operations, increase automation and efficiency or deliver new services. Wireless networking with LTE or 5G enables these transformations to take place even in the most dynamic, remote or highly secure environments while offering the scale benefits of a technology that has already been deployed worldwide.
The arrival of LTE-Advanced systems delivered a step change in network capacity, throughput and deterministic latency. 5G networks will bring increased densities of users and devices, even greater capacity and further improvements to latency that enable use of mobile technology for time-critical applications.
Private mobile networks are often part of a broader digital transformation programme. This could include the introduction or development of cloud networking and other digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics. More and more applications of the private mobile network will use these capabilities combined with mobile connectivity.
Players and Market Statistics
The private mobile network market is home to a wide range of service providers, including equipment and technology suppliers, mobile network operators, system integrators and private network end users (who sometimes take responsibility for installing or operating their own infrastructure).
GSA has counted over 50 equipment vendors that have been involved in the supply of equipment for private mobile networks based on LTE or 5G, alongside?more than 66 telecom network operators?involved with private mobile network projects. Many other types of players, such as systems integrators, consulting firms and software core vendors are also involved to varying degrees with private mobile network projects.
Majority of new deployments now use 5G
Use of LTE and 5G is variable by industry. Some industries, like hospitals, favour 5G, whereas LTE is more dominant in sectors such as oil and gas and mining. Of the 667 private network customers announced since 2022, 5G was used in 55% of references.
Manufacturing sector leads the way in adoption
As we build our database, GSA’s data indicates that the manufacturing sector is a strong adopter of private mobile networks in terms of the number of customer deployments, with 279 identified companies, up from 129 at the end of 2021. The education sector is the second most common group, with 145 customers deploying private networks, followed by mining companies (107) and now device testing and lab-as-aservice (97). Defence and peacekeeping (89) and power utility (83) companies round out the top five.
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Spectrum strategies are creating new deployment?models
GSA also tracks the spectrum bands used for customer deployments assigned specifically for local or private network purposes. To this end, we are now seeing?telecom regulators showing signs of making increased allocations of dedicated spectrum available for private mobile networks — typically small tranches in specified locations. This could be acquired directly by organisations instead of by mobile operators, giving industries an alternative deployment model.
With so much opportunity, and so many regulators planning initiatives to make spectrum?available for LTE and 5G private usage, we expect significant market developments over the next couple of years. GSA will?be publishing further statistical updates covering the private mobile sector during 2024.
GSA reports:
Published in June 2024
LTE, 5G and 3GPP IoT Chipsets
The focus of this report is discrete cellular modem chipsets, as well as mobile processors, system-on-chips and platforms (only those containing modems) used in devices with LTE — and 5G — connectivity, in addition to chipsets designed for devices using 3GPP-defined IoT technologies.
Private Mobile Networks
The definition of a private mobile network used in this report is a 3GPP-based 4G LTE or 5G network intended for the sole use of private?entities, such as enterprises, industries and governments.
Fixed Wireless Access
GSA has been tracking this market to determine the evolving?extent and nature of the availability of FWA broadband services?based on LTE or 5G technologies worldwide.?This report includes data collected about services delivered using indoor?and outdoor CPE and focuses on FWA services provided?using LTE and 5G technologies.
Upcoming events
2G/3G sunset & the implications for 5G Broadcast
Live Webinar: July 23rd, 4.00pm UK
Will the sunsetting of older 2G/3G technologies herald a new dawn for 5G Broadcast?
Drawing on information collected by the GSA about the switch-off of 2G and 3G around the world, this 30-minute Snapshot webinar will focus on the number of operators that have already shut down these networks, those in the process of doing so and those planning such a move.?
The implications of this migration will be examined in the context of the latest global data on 5G spectrum and network deployments – in particular the status of 5G Standalone and 5G Broadcast services.
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That's a wrap for this edition of GSA Monthly Pulse - if something sparked a thought, leave a comment below! For more information about GSA, our industry advocacy and industry reports, follow us on LinkedIn or visit our homepage.
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