FWA CPE maximizes return on 5G spectrum ...

Dec 18, 2023

VANTIVA, formerly known as Technicolor, has launched its Falcon 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) customer premises equipment (CPE) at Mobile World Congress 2023 in Barcelona. The integrated system delivers fast wireless speeds over a wide area. The announcement is the latest example of the company's leadership position in providing network service providers (NSPs) with the latest‚— and most innovative— products for the connected home market.

"With Falcon 5G, VANTIVA addresses two distinct market opportunities. It is an ideal product for mobile operators that have made significant investments in the 5G spectrum and want to accelerate and maximize returns on those investments. FWA offers these NSPs an opportunity to introduce new residential services and generate new revenue streams," said Ashwani Saigal, Vice President of Broadband and Video CPE at VANTIVA.

"Falcon 5G also creates new opportunities for integrated fixed and mobile operators. They are now in a position to extend their broadband services to underserved residential areas that do not have access to cable or fiber infrastructure," he said.

The Falcon 5G complements and expands on the innovations introduced last year when the Cobra 5G premium indoor CPE and the 5G Omni outdoor CPE were launched. The Falcon 5G, for instance, pushes 5G traffic to the C-band of the spectrum, improving indoor 5G signal reception and significantly boosting uplink speeds while enabling whole-home Wi-Fi coverage in a more compact eco-friendly form factor.

Falcon 5G harnesses the company's breakthrough Indoor5G™ technology, which allows the reception system in the gateway device to self-optimize by automatically configuring its internal antennas to ensure the best reception from operators’ towers.

The CPE also leverages Power Class 1.5, which boosts the transmission power by 3 dB. This allows operators to improve uplink speeds for FWA users. More importantly, it enables NSPs to address up to 40% larger areas around their base stations and connect more homes with 5G.

The Falcon 5G addresses connectivity and performance issues created by the weakening of 5G signals as traffic passes through the walls of homes. The single-unit CPE can be easily self-installed by subscribers with the help of the NaviGate5G™ iOS and Android mobile apps developed by VANTIVA to optimize the position of the 5G gateway in the home. NaviGate5G™ determines the available towers location in the end users’ vicinity and guides them to position the device at the optimum place. This self-service technology removes the need for NSP-technician installation visits, reducing the time and resources that are typically associated with "truck rolls."

The latest Wi-Fi 6 technologies have been integrated into the CPE to ensure high-quality connectivity throughout the home. VANTIVA engineers have placed Wi-Fi antennas at the top of Falcon 5G tower design to bring true 360° performance.

In addition to enabling speeds and coverage that supports high-quality video streaming across multiple devices and high-speed connectivity for smart homes and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, VANTIVA is addressing global demand for greener, more sustainable, products. The company has thoroughly simplified Falcon 5G's electrical architecture. As a result, the overall size of the Falcon 5G is 45% smaller and has reduced operating power consumption by 35% compared to current products available in the market.

The form factor reduction means that the number of gateways flowing through the international supply chain in shipping containers increases by 47%, further improving the carbon footprint profile of the product.

Additionally, the company's mechanical designers have maximized passive convection to remove the need for cooling fans. In terms of materials, 95% of the plastic parts in the Falcon 5G gateway are comprised of recycled resins. The product is designed for easy reverse logistics, reducing the costs associated with refurbishing and recycling. The packaging, made of brown recycled cardboard, is plastic-free. All markings on the product exclusively use vegetable inks.

Finally, Falcon 5G is one of the first 5G FWA gateways on the market to take full advantage of the integrated Qualcomm® 5G Fixed Wireless Access Platform Gen 2 from Qualcomm Technologies for mobile broadband, removing the need for additional components like an application processor. This makes Falcon 5G the most efficient indoor CPE on the market.

"Qualcomm Technologies’ global leadership and 5G offerings have been critical in fostering the proliferation and adoption of 5G and FWA to drive affordable, accessible connectivity infrastructure for global communities," said Dino Flore, Vice President, Technology, Qualcomm Europe, Inc.

www.vantiva.com

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