“Mobile broadband services may become more of a viable substitute for fixed broadband,” said Rod Sims, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair, speaking of the potential impact of 5G, though it is not hard to find skeptics who argue 5G is not a substitute for fixed network access.
Cost per bit has been one historic barrier to such substitution, as the cost of fixed network gigabytes of usage has been an order of magnitude lower than using mobile gigabytes.
But all of the above is a likely outcome. In other words, there are likely to be use cases where 5G (fixed or mobile) actually is a substitute for fixed network access and also other scenarios where 5G is not a substitute.
Even in the 4G era, 15 percent to 20 percent of U.S. households have become mobile-only for internet access.
That might take the form of either fixed or mobile 5G. Telenor, for example, envisions using 5G to connect consumers where fiber to the home is not feasible. T-Mobile US likewise has argued fixed or mobile versions of 5G will be a full substitute for fixed network access.
Much will hinge on the degree to which mobile suppliers can dramatically slash their cost to deliver bandwidth, allowing them to price their packages comparably to fixed network offers.
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