Therefore, even though a high CPE sharing factor could be achieved in some areas, it would be unrealistic to consider that FWA operators targeting the mass market will achieve to share the majority of its CPEs. The unit cost of CPE is therefore the main driver of the cost per mass market customer. We estimate that this unit cost will need to decrease by a factor of two to three to become attractive to the residential mass market. When compared with these high fixed costs, residential revenues are relatively low. Since the cost per user is relatively fixed, the only way to improve this business case is to consider high users with higher telecoms spending per month.
Higher revenues generate more cash and reduce the payback period.
When applied to the mass market, FWA technology presents a high fixed cost that requires high-spending users to recoup the implied investment. The issue is that residential users will not be able to provide such revenues. Businesses, on the other hand, because of their communication needs, will provide higher revenues that justify FWA technology investment. In some specific areas, highly concentrated MDUs will enable FWA operators to achieve high CPE sharing factors and will make a sustainable business case. But this will remain a niche positioning, and the unit cost of CPEs will need to decrease significantly if the mass market is be addressed with FWA technology.