GSA: 4G-5G FWA Survey 2024
The purpose of the GSA 4G–5G FWA Forum is to educate the industry about the fixed wireless access (FWA) market. There are currently no agreed market definitions, there is a lack of market information and no consensus about the volume of FWA device shipments and FWA installed base globally.
GSA’s annual FWA CPE market survey aims to address these issues. It was first conducted in 2021 and this report presents the findings of the 2024 survey, where data was collected from April to July 2024. A total of 30 vendors of customer-premises equipment (CPE) from the GSA 4G–5G FWA Forum answered the survey.
The results present the aggregate answers of those 30 CPE vendors. We estimate that this is a significant representation of the market for 3GPP-based 4G and 5G FWA devices. Please note that the sample sizes and participant companies differ slightly from year to year, so caution is advised when drawing comparisons.
Participants in the survey included: Airgain, Asiatelco Technologies Co, Askey, BEC Technologies, Chanhong, Compal, Da Ta Technologies, DZS (formerly Casa Systems), Elsys, Gemtek, Gongjin Mobile Communication/T&W, Green Packet, Huawei, Intelbras, Jaton Technology, MeiG Smart Technology, Nokia, Notion InfoTech, Shenzhen jointelli, Smawave Technology, StartUSA, Tigercel, Tozed Kangwei, Vantiva, Wavetel, WNC, Xiamen Four-Faith, YaoJin Technology, ZTE and Zyxel.
The survey is intended to be repeated annually to create a baseline of data about the global 4G and 5G FWA market. This report presents a summary of selected survey findings.
Top 10 Highlights
• In 2024, shipments of FWA CPE are expected to grow 23% to reach 37.5 million units. Reported total CPE shipments in 2023 amounted to 30.4 million from 30 respondents, a 2% increase from 2022.
• 5G-enabled FWA shipments became mainstream, reaching 10.2 million in 2023. The growth of 5G FWA CPE shipments is expected to accelerate further, accounting for 42% of shipments in 2024 compared with 34% in 2023. By comparison, 4G FWA CPE shipments fell 5% between 2022 and 2023. Less than half of respondents will introduce a new 4G CPE product this year.
• Various regions drove growth of 5G FWA shipments in 2023, in contrast with 2022, when most shipments were concentrated in North America. India is now contributing to this upward trend in shipments, with 86% of those reported being 5G-enabled, followed by North America (65%) and the rest of Asia–Pacific (39%).
• Shipments are still dominated by indoor CPE (60%), followed by battery-operated hot spots (25%) and outdoor CPE (15%). Within outdoor CPE, flexible self-install devices are expected to grow from 1.6 million to 1.9 million. Their share of shipments in the category is expected to remain at about one-third.
• Shipments of 5G devices with millimetre-wave (mmWave) capability rose 63% between 2022 and 2023 and are forecast to grow 22% by 2024 but remaining at under 10% of all 5G shipments.
• When it comes to 5G standalone, 60% of shipments in 2023 supported the technology. These are expected to grow in 2024, reaching 8.9 million units, up from 6 million in 2023.
• There is strong interest in RedCap, with 63% of respondents stating they will be introducing a 5G RedCap CPE device in 2024.
• According to 40% of respondents, 5G CPE will reach price parity with its 4G counterpart by 2026, a year later than in last year’s survey.
• Most respondents claim that window-mounted CPE and self-installation apps are growing; flexible indoor and outdoor CPE are set to remain flat; and hybrid fibre/DSL CPE will decline.
• More than half of respondents do not expect component shortages but do anticipate inflationary pressures in 2024.
SOURCE GSA
