5G driving mobile and fixed markets convergence
A Mobile Experts report that explores the state of Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) in the U.S. telecommunications market through 2024 has found that the FMC evolution continues deeper within the 5G Core network on a path of steady growth
“Large tier-1 operators have long been exploring ways to interwork fixed and mobile networks for seamless voice, data, and video services. As mobile transitions to 5G, those tier-1 operators are driving the FMC architecture framework deeper into the network with 5G Core as the “anchor” and as fixed and mobile access networks get disaggregated and virtualized,” commented Principal Analyst Kyung Mun.
According to the report, the average U.S. household consumes more than 11 times more data over the fixed network as compared to mobile access. The COVID pandemic contributed to a peak in this trend last year as more Americans relied on their fixed networks at home. Despite this, U.S. consumers place roughly 20x more value on mobile broadband over fixed access according to the study from Mobile Experts, which compared service revenue generated from actual GB delivered.
“The FMC outlook in the U.S. is relatively modest, but based on the current dynamic in the market, technical FMC will grow gradually over the next few years as FMC leverages mobile network architecture as the framework,” stated Principal Analyst Kyung Mun. “Key motivations for service providers to engage with FMC include cost savings, churn reduction, new convergent services, service bundling, and seamless handover between mobile and fixed services. This new report includes detailed breakdowns of each of these aspects of the growing market.”
The 60-page report provides a five-year forecast of the fixed and mobile broadband market, including service revenue, subscriber connections, fixed and mobile cost-per-GB, and pricing trends. In particular, the report focuses on the premium pricing for mobile services, or the ‘mobility premium.’