FWA could be ‘game changer’ for Jio, Airtel: Qualcomm

Maui (Hawaii): Qualcomm Inc, the world’s largest maker of smartphone chips, believes 5G-based fixed wireless access (FWA) services using millimetre waves (read: 26 GHz spectrum) can be a genuine game changer for India’s top two telcos, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel to speed up 5G monetisation as it can be deployed rapidly, and since both telcos have massive chunks of these low-cost airwaves at a pan-India level.

A top Qualcomm executive said both Jio and Airtel have recently tested their 5G-based FWA services on 26 GHz spectrum and the test results were encouraging, in that, the quality of connectivity and data speeds were decent even during the intense Mumbai monsoons. The US chip maker was closely involved in these trials and assessing outcomes.