SAMENA Council observes that, within the SA-ME-NA region and the emerging markets, FWA, as an affordable high-speed home broadband access solution, is enabling Operators quickly recover investment costs.
Given the anticipated role of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) in the development of 5G networks within and around the SA-ME-NA and Central Asia regions, SAMENA Council has announced dedicated FWA working group to focus on experience management, business development, and service innovation. This follows the creation of the ELITE FWA Club, which was launched in December 2023 in Dubai, and will receive member support and thought-leadership contributions from SAMENA Council as well as the Industry. ELITE FWA Club aims to provide opportunity for leaders in the ICT sector to delve into critical areas relating to the FWA business, to help foster innovation, customer experience management, and ecosystem maturity while advocating for commercial advancements in the FWA sector.
During the second meeting of the Club, held in Barcelona on February 28, Bocar BA, CEO of SAMENA Council, in his keynote speech, drew attention to the need to leverage both Fiber and FWA. “As the Club meets for the second time, it is important to remind ourselves that, while fiber has set the benchmark for fixed broadband service quality, speed, and reliability, the logistical and financial side of fiber deployment typically remains a feat to overcome. We should leverage unique advantages of fiber and fixed wireless access, for what can be achieved with both may not be achievable with fiber alone”, stated BA.
SAMENA Council observes that, within the SA-ME-NA region and the emerging markets, FWA, as an affordable highspeed home broadband access solution, is enabling Operators quickly recover investment costs. In gradually maturing digital economies within the SA-ME-NA region, particularly in the greater GCC region, FWA is contributing to Operator’s market share and revenue growth. Moreover, there appears to be a direct correlation in making use of 5G investments and empowering other sectors to achieve greater efficiencies through new use cases of wireless technologies.
SAMENA Council is collaborating closely with Huawei and other valued members of the Council as well as regional entities who have joined or will be joining the FWA Club and its supporting platforms, provided by SAMENA Council. It is important that the ELITE FWA Club members work together and proactively exchange insights and deployment experiences for common benefit.