Extended Range mmWave for Fixed Wireless Applications

The large bandwidth of mmWave spectrum for 5G NR correlate to greatly increased throughputs and expanded capacity for RAN networks. It is not without its challenges though as mmWave does not penetrate indoors and has propagation limitations compared to sub-6Ghz spectrum. However, mmWave enables fixed wireless access (FWA) applications to provide residential homes with high-speed broadband connection. In this article, we present findings from our field trial which involved use of FWA high power customer premise equipment (CPE) with some optimizations on the gNodeB to achieve distance of 5Kms with speeds in excess of 100Mbps. This study shows the feasibility of fixed wireless for extended coverage especially suitable for rural areas.