Wireless-to-the-x (WTTx) technology capable of providing fiber-like speeds is an ideal solution to bring broadband connectivity to the 61% of APAC households that still do not have internet access, according to Huawei's LTE industry development director Goran Berntson.
Speaking at the Broadband & TV Connect Asia Conference 2016, Berntson noted that using existing network and site architecture, WTTx can provide up to 75% in broadband network rollout cost savings to unconnected households.
Using 4.5G technologies such as Massive MIMO and Massive Carrier Aggregation, WTTx can provide downlink speeds of 1Gbps or higher.
With high-performance customer premise equipment, WTTx networks are capable of supporting emerging new services such as 4K IPTV and virtual reality gaming.
The technology can potentially overcome challenges related to last mile connectivity for unconnected premises, such as high fixed line engineering costs and the difficulty securing site access to privately-owned land, he said.
Today 148 countries have a national plan in place to promote home broadband penetration and an improved internet experience for end-users, Berntson noted. WTTx is becoming a key strategy to help push towards 100% national broadband penetration.
To fulfill the promise of WTTx, Bernston recommended looking into new spectrum bands. Ideal frequencies for APAC include 700-MHz, 1.9-GHz, 2.3-GHz, 2.6-GHz and 3.5-GHz.