Vendors increasingly pushing LTE for private wireless and fixed wireless networks

Amid all the 5G hype, a wide range of vendors continue to look for new growth opportunities for LTE equipment. And two particular areas—fixed wireless access (FWA) and private wireless networks—appear to continue to gain steam. Specifically, vendors like Ericsson, Nokia and Redline Communications are among those selling LTE equipment for private wireless networks, while vendors like Nokia, Telrad and Baicells have been promoting LTE equipment for FWA. While the two markets (private wireless and FWA) are distinctly different, the arguments for applying LTE in those sectors is generally the same: There are lots of LTE equipment vendors, which means that providers can mix and match products and won’t get locked into an agreement with one proprietary vendor. And LTE technology sports a long history of innovations, and improvements to the technology will likely continue well into the future. Indeed, even as they march toward 5G, the world’s cellular operators continue to boast of significant upgrades in LTE. For example, Verizon recently said it was able to obtain a peak data rate of 1.4 Gbps on its LTE network by using unlicensed spectrum and carrier aggregation technology. But another major driver of LTE vendor interest in fixed wireless access and private wireless networks is the impending peak of LTE sales to cellular operators. Although 5G remains in its early stages, the technology will eventually outpace LTE—analyst firm Dell'Oro predicted that 5G base station shipments will overtake LTE base station shipments by 2022. Thus, vendors like Nokia, Ericsson and others are hoping to tamp out additional LTE opportunities for all their LTE work.