After the rollout of LTE/4G networks, the potential for cellular networks to replace traditional wireline broadband emerged as a serious consideration. Fast forward to 2023, and nearly 60% of the worldâs populationâaround 5 billion peopleâaccess the Internet over mobile networks. While wired networks still dominate in delivering reliable, high-speed broadband for residential and business use, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is now a game-changer, particularly when paired with SD-WAN.
The Rise of Fixed Wireless Access
FWA has emerged as one of the fastest-growingâand most profitableâsegments for Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Industry Research reports that the global FWA market surpassed $140 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow annually at a rate of nearly 20% through 2030. Mobile operators have already embraced FWA as their second-largest use case after mobile broadband. Why?
FWA has effectively shifted from being a supplementary service to a viable alternative to wired connections, offering speeds comparable to fibre through advancements in 5G and wireless radios. Yet, for businesses, FWA alone cannot consistently meet enterprise-grade requirements for uptime, reliability, and performance. This is where SD-WAN unlocks the full potential of FWA, enabling Managed Service Providers and businesses to truly capitalise on this opportunity.
Why FWA Alone Isnât Enough
Early FWA deployments offered modest speeds of around 50 Mbps, suitable for basic use cases but insufficient for enterprise environments. Today, 5G-enabled FWA delivers Gigabit speedsâcomparable to fibreâbut challenges remain:
Inconsistent Quality of Experience (QoE): Packet loss, latency, and jitter can degrade application performance.
Business SLAs: Businesses require reliable connectivity for critical operations, edge computing, and branch applications.
Network Management: FWA alone lacks real-time traffic management intelligence, leading to underutilisation of bandwidth and performance bottlenecks.
To address these challenges, ISPs must complement FWA with SD-WANâa software-defined overlay network that provides intelligent traffic management, optimised performance, and multi-path connectivity.
The SD-WAN Advantage for FWA
Combining FWA with SD-WAN creates a powerful solution for businesses, providing the flexibility, reliability, and quality needed for primary or secondary connectivity at branch offices and edge locations.
Fusion's SD-WAN brings advanced traffic-handling capabilities to FWA deployments:
Dynamic QoS Management: SD-WAN intelligently maps users and applications to specific quality-of-service (QoS) tiers. This ensures critical applications such as voice, video conferencing, and AI workloads receive priority while less important traffic is deprioritised to conserve bandwidth.
Traffic Bonding: Fusion's bonding technology combines multiple network linksâincluding FWA, satellite, and broadbandâinto a single, high-performance connection. This mitigates packet loss, latency, and jitter, delivering a superior user experience for real-time applications.
For example, last-mile remediation techniques in Fusionâs SD-WAN have been proven to improve call quality in FWA links, ensuring crystal-clear voice and seamless video conferencing.
2. Multi-Access Connectivity for Branch & Edge
Modern businesses rely on multi-access solutions to meet their connectivity needs. Fusion's SD-WAN enables enterprises to seamlessly integrate multiple access typesâFWA, 5G/LTE, broadband, MPLS, and satelliteâinto a single intelligent overlay. This unified network architecture delivers:
High Reliability: Automatic failover ensures uninterrupted connectivity during link degradation or outages.
Cost Efficiency: Managed Service Providers can offer flexible connectivity options, combining FWA with wired networks to meet SLAs while reducing capital expenditure on fibre deployments.
Optimised Edge Performance: SD-WAN intelligently routes traffic to the best-performing link in real time, improving application responsiveness for edge and branch locations.
3. Accelerating ISP Monetisation of FWA
For ISPs, combining SD-WAN with FWA presents a significant revenue opportunity:
Lower CAPEX, Higher Reach: FWA allows operators to expand their broadband footprint at a fraction of the cost of fibre deployments. By offering SD-WAN-enabled FWA, ISPs can attract businesses looking for primary or secondary connectivity solutions.
Enhanced SLAs: SD-WANâs dynamic traffic optimisation, failover capabilities, and bonding technologies empower ISPs to deliver premium SLAs that rival traditional fibre or MPLS networks.
Competitive Differentiation: With Fusionâs SD-WAN, ISPs can offer superior QoE, ensuring high performance for AI, video, and other demanding applications over FWA links.
A Growing Opportunity for ISPs & Enterprises
The demand for reliable, high-speed connectivity is driving unprecedented growth in the FWA market. According to GSMA, 131 operators in 64 markets launched FWA services in 2024 alone. By 2030, the number of FWA connections is expected to surge by 358%, reaching over 79 million connections worldwide.
However, the ability to consistently deliver enterprise-grade QoE and SLAs remains a critical differentiator. Fusionâs SD-WAN empowers ISPs to offer FWA with unmatched reliability, creating opportunities to:
Enter new markets with flexible, high-performing connectivity solutions.
Offer multi-access services combining FWA, wired broadband, satellite, and MPLS.
Deliver premium SLAs to enterprise customers, maximising profitability and customer retention.
Wrap | Unleashing the Full Potential of FWA with SD-WAN
Fixed Wireless Access is no longer a secondary or hypothetical optionâit is a critical enabler of connectivity for both residential and enterprise markets. However, the key to unlocking its full potential lies in SD-WAN. By combining FWA with Fusionâs SD-WAN, ISPs can deliver superior performance, multi-path reliability, and enterprise-grade QoSâturning FWA into a viable alternative to traditional wired connections.
For ISPs and enterprises, this is a huge opportunity to expand reach, optimise performance, and drive profitability with a flexible, future-proof solution. Fusionâs SD-WAN provides the perfect platform to deliver next-generation FWA services, enabling businesses to thrive in an increasingly connected world.
Ronald Bartels ensures that Internet inhabiting things are connected reliably online at Fusion Broadband South Africa - the leading specialized SD-WAN Last Mile provider in South Africa. Learn more about the best SD-WAN in the world: đContact Fusionâď¸
