Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) provides high-bandwidth internet connectivity via radio links between provider towers and your premises — delivering speeds comparable to fiber in markets where wireline broadband is limited, expensive, or slow to provision.
Fixed wireless has matured significantly with 5G infrastructure investment — many providers now offer enterprise-grade FWA with SLAs, gigabit-capable speeds, and rapid installation timelines. RLM advises on FWA suitability, provider evaluation, and the deployment considerations that determine reliability.
A structured advisory process — from discovery and market evaluation to vendor selection and post-deployment optimization — tailored to your specific environment and objectives.
We evaluate FWA suitability for each location — line-of-sight requirements, tower proximity, building mounting options, and the geographic and structural factors that determine signal quality.
We evaluate FWA providers in each market — Starlink for remote locations, 5G FWA from carriers, and licensed microwave providers for enterprise-grade solutions — against your bandwidth, latency, and SLA requirements.
FWA requires antenna installation — rooftop, window, or exterior wall mounting — that may require building owner approval, structural assessment, and professional installation. We plan the installation approach.
FWA has unique failure modes — weather events, tower interference, hardware failure — that differ from wireline outages. We design the redundancy architecture that maintains connectivity during FWA-specific failure scenarios.
These are the dimensions that consistently separate successful network deployments from costly ones — and the questions RLM will help you answer before any commitment.
Traditional FWA requires clear line-of-sight to the provider tower. 5G FWA using sub-6 GHz spectrum is more forgiving, but non-line-of-sight propagation still significantly reduces performance. Evaluate LOS carefully before committing.
Fixed wireless signals are susceptible to rain fade at higher frequencies. Evaluate the weather reliability of the specific technology band being used — millimeter-wave frequencies are most susceptible.
Many FWA services use shared spectrum with contention ratios — bandwidth is not guaranteed. Evaluate whether enterprise-grade FWA with dedicated capacity or contention ratios is available at your location.
5G FWA latency is typically 10-30ms — suitable for most enterprise applications. Starlink latency (25-100ms) is acceptable for internet browsing but may affect VoIP quality. Evaluate against your application requirements.
Enterprise FWA SLAs vary from carrier to carrier. Some providers offer enterprise SLAs with repair commitments; others provide best-efforts service with consumer-grade support. Evaluate SLA quality against your uptime requirements.
FWA can often be installed in days vs. the weeks or months required for wireline fiber. Evaluate FWA as a solution for rapid connectivity requirements — new office openings, temporary sites, or emergency backup.
"RLM gave us an objective view of our network options that no single vendor could. We replaced aging MPLS across 40 locations and came in 28% under our original budget."
"The RLM team understood our network complexity from day one. Their vendor-neutral approach helped us find the right solution — not just the one with the biggest marketing budget."
Start with a no-cost conversation with an RLM network advisor — vendor neutral, no agenda, just clarity on the right path forward for your environment.
Speak to a Network Advisor