Vodafone Italy has launched 5G fixed wireless access services for home users over its 5G network, providing download rates up to 300 Mbps. Competitors dismiss the threat, arguing fixed wireless cannot compete either with fiber to the home or with hybrid fiber coax.
That is only partly true. The median home broadband speed in Italy is about 49 Mbps. That means half of customers buy speeds lower than 49 Mbps, while half buy service at speeds faster than 49 Mbps.
So an offer of 300 Mbps will be attractive to a substantial portion of the market, and almost certainly a majority of the market.
Over time, if Vodadone does not gradually increase speeds, then skeptics are correct: fixed wireless will lose value compared to FTTH or HFC. But that is not the point. To the extent 5G fixed wireless allows contestants to take substantial share right now, that helps create the revenue platform for upgrades, using either wireless or another platform.
The new Vodafone service costs EUR 27.90 (USD 27.34) a month, plus an activation fee of EUR 96, paid in installments of EUR 4 per month for 24 months.
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