Do you remember opening your last home router? Chances are, the process was as utilitarian as the router itself: Nondescript brown cardboard box, with a nondescript black rectangle inside, miscellaneous cords and a nondescript instruction card to follow … before you stuff the whole thing inside a cabinet or an out-of-the-way corner.
With the emergence of 5G Fixed Wireless Access, network operators have a chance to make the in-home connectivity experience something that differentiates and elevates the customer experience. Broadband is already one of the most important in-home services: A February 2021 Consumer Reports survey found that 75% of Americans say that they rely on internet connectivity seven days a week. Meanwhile, consumers are primed to welcome a new option for home broadband: Recent Nokia-commissioned research showed that 76% of consumers like the idea of 5G FWA, and 66% would happily subscribe to 5G FWA at the same price as their current broadband. Converged network operators have a chance to capture that additional revenue stream and offer additional services beyond broadband to monetize their 5G networks, achieve 100% coverage and plug holes in their service areas with 5G FWA. But the new option requires some serious thinking about differentiating the 5G FWA consumer experience.
In a time when entire YouTube channels are devoted to unboxing smartphones, tablets and other electronics, customers have elevated expectations for details from packaging to device design – not to mention performance. Nokia’s FastMile 5G Gateway 3 combines a fiber-like home broadband experience with elegant design and easy installation, providing aesthetic pleasure while also satisfying customers’ need for speed. The glossy, black-and-white cylinder provides customers with a deluxe impression from first glance, and the touchscreen on top makes interacting with the device intuitive. The indoor/outdoor receiver is similarly unobtrusive and designed for simple installation. Setting up the gateway does not require a technician visit, so impatient customers don’t need to wait for service windows or in-person tech visits. One consumer survey has showed that the majority of consumers would rather visit the dentist than fail at self-installation and wait for a tech – but it also showed that customers are willing to put time into the self-install process, even more than 15 minutes. They are willing, if you make it easy for them. Nokia makes self-installs painless and quick, with an application that walks consumers through set-up in simple steps and guides them through the best placement for the signal receiver. The FastMile 5G Gateway 3 also has a built-in signal strength and speed test, easily accessed through the touchscreen, that reassures customers that the device is, quite literally, up to speed.
Whether accurate or not, the fact is that customers’ perception of a service provider’s network is only as good as their in-home Wi-Fi – which means that Wi-Fi had better be good. End users may put up with some lag on the macro network when they are on the move, but at home, they have little tolerance for inconsistent or slow Wi-Fi. The internal components of the Nokia Fastmile 5G Gateway 3 make sure that the device will live up to expectations about 5G’s capabilities. Nokia field data from customer trials has shown that the gateway’s industry-leading high-gain 11 dBi antennas consistently boost peak rates at a given location by up to 180 Mbps, when compared to omni-antenna designs with 3-5 dBi gain. Those high-gain antennas even in some cases allow customers to connect with 5G services when others can only reach 4G networks. With 4×4 MIMO, carrier aggregation and support for 5G NSA and SA, the Nokia Fastmile 5G Gateway 3 brings the latest and best capabilities for connecting to the nearest 5G site. Within the home, the gateway provides Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, with managed mesh Wi-Fi capabilities integrated into the device for when that feature is needed. Customers can connect a higher number of number of devices, faster, over the reliable in-home network that they demand.
Fixed Wireless Access is ready for its moment. It is proving, day by day, that it can compete on the same footing with traditional wired broadband services. But network operators have a chance to go beyond the same-old and make the FWA customer experience something special, combining the cachet of new technology and with a “new toy” to deliver a complete, simple package for broadband: The simplicity that customers need and the speed and consistency that they want, wrapped up in a stylish and innovative device that is anything but nondescript.
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