Fixed wireless access (FWA), one of the starting use instances of 5G mobile networks, will "certainly" get adapted in India as telecom administrators can't involve fiber in that frame of mind because of the cost and time included, said a senior chief of Bharti Airtel.

 

"We (telcos) cannot try to fiberize every place since it has money issues and consumes time," Randeep Sekhon, chief technology officer (CTO) of Airtel, said at the seventh edition of ETTelecom 5G | 6G Congress 2024.

 

Telecom firms Airtel and rival Reliance Jio are attempting to adopt the cutting-edge 5G administrations even after one year. Both carried out their 5G FWA administrations in key metros last year to begin adapting their 5G networks.

 

As per Peter Jarich, head of GSMA Intelligence, telecom operators overall have not had the option to adapt 5G networks in spite of billions of dollars in speculations. "The promise of 5G was that it was going to unlock new revenues and new capabilities that we could monetise. I think, as we have seen across the world, we haven't quite done that...," he said separately, at the same event.

 

Jarich, however, mentioned that the impending 5G-advanced technology might address some of the adaptation trouble spots.

 

"By the time we come down to FWA, the technology is mature. The modern prices are now reasonable. We can create a cost of home pass comparable to a home pass in FTTH (fiber-to-the-home), which means now the operators will not shy away from deploying AirFiber or FWA in large numbers," Sekhon said.

 

Some areas where 5G FWA will be reasonable incorporate far-off areas, distant towns and schools. Sekhon said use cases driven by the most recent 5G networks have likewise begun arising in the industrial segment.