With the commercial launch of 5G services, commentary often runs to an extreme. Some hype the longer-term new use cases, while others say not much will change, for the typical consumer.
Both viewpoints have some merit. Longer term, 5G promises brand-new use cases, largely around internet of things. Near term, there are not many 5G phones, few places to use 5G networks and few--if any--use cases that actually can avail themselves of 5G network capabilities.
Fixed wireless, perhaps oddly, is among the few new use cases 5G networks will enable. Mobile internet access and personal hotspots will be among the use cases for early 5G users, but those are existing use cases.
Deloitte Global predicts that 20 percent of North Americans with internet access will get all of their home data access from mobile networks in 2018. The percentage of mobile-only customers might grow to as much as 30 percent to 40 percent of the population by 2022, Deloitte Global estimates, including both mobile-only and mobile operator fixed wireless users.
For some internet service providers, 5G fixed wireless offers an attractive new revenue source, allowing market share capture from fixed network service suppliers. That strategy worked well in many other parts of the communications business.
MCI took long distance calling share from AT&T; satellite video providers took share from cable TV companies; cable companies took voice share from telcos; telcos took video share from cable companies; mobile firms took voice share from fixed network providers.
Some mobile ISPs will be able to take advantage of the 5G fixed wireless opportunity; others largely will not.
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