The growth of fibre to the premises continues with the UK operator Openreach announcing that their “full fibre” broadband is now available to 10 million homes with 3 million of these residing in hard to reach rural areas. Their ultimate goal is to reach 25 million homes by the end of 2026.

But there is an alternative to fibre especially where providing fixed lines to homes in scattered communities is uneconomic. Fixed wireless access (FWA) using 5G technology is emerging as a competitive option for broadband in both developed and emerging markets.

And it’s not just rural communities that could benefit from FWA. For example, major operators in the USA see a huge opportunity for FWA in urban areas where cable customers are dissatisfied with their existing broadband service.

Operators in western Europe are also now providing FWA with EE planning to cover 90% of the UK with 5G FWA by 2028.

So, although some have doubted the claimed benefits of the role out of 5G mobile services given the large investment required, the use of 5G technologies for FWA will realise their full potential.

The PTT online course Wireless communications introduces the principles of FWA while other PTT courses provide a detailed treatment of 5G technologies.