Mobile-only households, perhaps logically, are among the best potential customers for 5G fixed wireless services offered by mobile operators in Australia, a new study by Telsyte suggests. Some 33 percent of poll respondents said they had some level of interest in 5G fixed wireless.
That suggests some three million Australian households could potentially become customers by perhaps 2021.
According to Telsyte, around 15 percent of Australian households (1.4 million households) are currently mobile only, and about 41 percent of Australians aged 16 to 34 are interested in subscribing to 5G fixed wireless services.
Telsyte says interest is highest among mobile-only customers. Some 43 percent of respondents in such households say they would consider buying a 5G fixed wireless service.
Still, the study seems to suggest a great deal of uncertainty where it comes to actual consumer behavior and supplier responses.
Telsyte predicts that the near-term opportunity for carriers will be services that combine both fixed line connections supplied by the National Broadband Network with 5G. It is not clear how that might affect competitive dynamics between various mobile and fixed access suppliers.
On the other hand, Telsyte believes 5G fixed wireless could compete with fiber to premises connections in rural and other non-metropolitan areas.
On a global basis, some estimate 5G fixed wireless revenue could reach $1 billion in 2019 and as much as $40 billion by 2025. But estimates now diverge significantly, as some predict there will be relatively light usage of 5G fixed wireless even in North America, where Verizon will make a big push.
