This solution also allows access to apartments using the property's existing infrastructure, including twisted pair, telephone wiring or coaxial cabling, from the building's attic or basement.
“This publication marks a game-changer for broadband service providers and will ensure that customers, regardless of their building type, receive the same broadband connectivity,” said Mike Talbert, Broadband Forum’s FWA project director for multi-dwelling buildings and senior director of technology at Wistron NeWeb Corporation. “By repurposing existing building infrastructure, multiple tenants can be served with a single 5G FWA connection, and this specification promises more efficient use of 5G resources, simplified and unified management, and reduced operating costs for operators.”
The FWA establishes a connection via a radio link for communications between a base station and user equipment, such as 5G modems, which are typically installed in apartments.
For radio frequencies below 6 GHz, a 5G network is suitable for providing broadband services with high coverage. But for gigabit or multi-gigabit speeds, BSPs want to use the high-band 5G mmWave spectrum "Frequency Range 2" at 24-40 GHz. This spectrum range has additional signal attenuation when passing through walls or building materials, so architectures employing outdoor CPE devices are preferred to maximize performance.
“In the past, restrictions imposed by landlords or the design of existing MDU buildings have limited the possibilities of offering high-capacity broadband services to these subscribers,” says Christele Bouchat, co-director of the Broadband Forum’s network architecture working group and director of strategy and standardization at Nokia. “The latest specification addresses these limitations by enabling the installation of a high-performance outdoor 5G FWA system that can be shared by dozens of tenants and connected via the building’s existing cabling.”
The project began in 2023 and has defined the architecture and requirements for serving multiple tenants in an MDU via FWA using converged and pure 5G network approaches. TR-507 and MR-516 are available for download.
