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Fastweb announces its new 5G-powered home broadband solution will be powered by Qualcomm

Fastweb is the first European ISP to offer FWA. (Source: Fastweb)
Fastweb is the first European ISP to offer FWA. (Source: Fastweb)
The Italian telecomms company Fastweb is one of a number of European firms that are early adopters of 5G mmWave-based fixed wireless access (FWA) as services for customers. It has announced that the consumer premises equipment (CPE) that delivers this new kind of "broadband" will be based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 modem.

Fixed wireless access (FWA) is a form of commercial mmWave 5G that can replace conventional fiber-optic or cable-delivered home broadband access - or so proponents such as Qualcomm assert. They have recently claimed to demonstrate that it can indeed maintain the high-speed connectivity required over ever-increasing distances.

Its most recent project to reportedly show this potential had been conducted in Italy. It must have been fairly compelling, as Fastweb has now announced that it will add FWA to its portfolio of services. It is poised to launch this new option across 50 Italian cities to start off with, and plans to expand this number to 500 before the end of 2021.

This may contribute to the ISP's aim of providing approximate gigabit (or about 1Gb/s) speeds to 45% of the population of Italy by 2024. It also asserts that its new FWA CPE can get this kind of internet to customers in locations underserved by traditional high-speed infrastructure.

This equipment is of the type that is affixed to the roof or side of a given customer's home, and is powered by the X55 modem/RF system. Should it work out for the users in question, it may help validate Qualcomm's repeated assertions that mmWave is the all-pervading consumer-grade connectivity solution of the future.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2020 12 > Fastweb announces its new 5G-powered home broadband solution will be powered by Qualcomm
Deirdre O'Donnell, 2020-12-18 (Update: 2020-12-18)