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Forbes
18 minutes ago
- Forbes
How Fixed Wireless Access Is Rewriting The Rules For Broadband
Eric Updyke, CEO at Spirent Communications. Did the telecom industry overlook one of the biggest opportunities in 5G? Judging from media buzz, you might think so. Early discussions were dominated by futuristic use cases—network slicing, ultra-low latency and millimeter wave—many of which were still years from deployment. Meanwhile, a quieter revolution was brewing. Many operators were making a strategic bet on something far more immediate and practical: fixed wireless access (FWA). That bet is paying off. FWA has rapidly emerged as one of the most successful use cases for 5G to date. According to the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), there are now more than 200 commercial 5G FWA deployments and growing. In North America, T-Mobile and Verizon have already surpassed their 2025 targets for FWA customers, with T-Mobile now expecting 12 million connections by 2028 and Verizon anticipating 8-9 million in the same timeframe. Ericsson predicts that by 2029, there will be 330 million FWA connections worldwide, generating approximately $75 billion in revenue. How did 5G FWA seemingly come out of nowhere to become this burgeoning industry phenomenon? Let's take a closer look. Fueling Competition On one level, it's not surprising that 5G FWA didn't capture early headlines. After all, it's just internet connectivity, right? Haven't we had broadband for decades? Well, yes and no. If you live in a rural region or developing market—or even if you'd just like more competition on pricing and performance—having a brand-new internet option can be quite compelling. Especially one that delivers performance on par with fiber without the need for last-mile cabling. Suddenly, some of the biggest longstanding broadband challenges—bridging the digital divide, connecting remote locations, spurring investment in developing markets—become far less challenging. Even operators have been surprised by market enthusiasm for FWA. Whether targeting urban cable subscribers or bringing cost-effective broadband to new regions, they're finding customers hungry for new choices. Operators are finding FWA to be an effective lever for the following: In regions where fiber buildouts are cost-prohibitive, FWA enables mobile operators to offer home broadband wherever they have 5G coverage. In many cases, performance has been found to rival traditional wired connections. Our research found that 2024 monthly revenue per user for 5G FWA averaged approximately $46 in the United States, $35 in Western Europe and $70 in the Middle East. And that's just the starting point. Providers are finding a strong appetite for upsell services—like speed boosts, smart home bundles and integrated home-and-mobile packages. FWA offers a lower-cost, faster path to market entry. Operators can assess uptake in a region to inform future fiber expansion plans, using FWA as both a service and a market testing tool. FWA's appeal extends beyond residential customers. At least 20 operators are now actively marketing FWA for business use, particularly targeting small and midsize enterprises in underserved areas. These offerings often come with SLAs and value-added services—like cybersecurity, unified communications and even AI edge hosting—creating a robust connectivity platform tailored for modern business needs. Assuring Quality With FWA adoption surging, attention is now turning to retention, differentiation and customer experience. And in broadband, that means one thing: quality. Speed matters, but it's not enough. End users care about performance for the applications they use every day—streaming, gaming, video calls and more. The FWA environment introduces unique challenges, including: • Airspace contention between FWA and mobile devices on shared spectrum • Interference between 5G signals and in-home Wi-Fi • Traffic imbalances within households, where one heavy user can degrade QoE for others These challenges can't be solved with a one-time fix. They require a comprehensive, lifecycle approach to testing—starting from design and continuing through deployment and operations. Effective strategies include: • Emulation And Simulation: Using digital twins to test networks and services in the lab, uncovering performance issues before live deployment. • Continuous Testing And Automation: Integrating functional and performance testing into CI/CD pipelines, enabling rapid, reliable deployment at scale. • Active Testing In Live Environments: Injecting synthetic test traffic to monitor SLA adherence and flag issues before they impact real users. Make no mistake—FWA introduces a new level of complexity compared to traditional broadband. But it also offers enormous opportunity. As adoption accelerates, operators who recognize this complexity and prioritize service quality will be best positioned to lead. The Most Disruptive Broadband Technology In Years Fixed wireless access is reshaping the broadband market faster than anyone predicted. It's opening doors for operators to expand footprints, compete more effectively and deliver meaningful value to customers—quickly and cost-efficiently. We may not have talked about it much during the early hype cycles of 5G, but FWA is rewriting the rules. It's not just a stopgap or rural solution—it's a transformative force in telecom. And its story is just beginning. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Do Wall Street Analysts Like Paramount Global Stock?
New York-based Paramount Global (PARA) is a leading media, streaming, and entertainment company offering television, film production, and digital content across various global platforms. With a market cap of $8.8 billion, the company owns a diverse portfolio of entertainment brands and provides streaming services, including Paramount+, Pluto TV, BET+, and Noggin. Shares of this entertainment giant have underperformed the broader market over the past year. PARA has gained 16.5% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied nearly 17.1%. However, in 2025, PARA stock is up 24.7%, surpassing the SPX's 8.6% fall on a YTD basis. More News from Barchart Tesla Just Signed a Chip Supply Deal with Samsung. What Does That Mean for TSLA Stock? Dear Microsoft Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for Aug. 1 Is Lucid Motors Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold for July 2025? Tired of missing midday reversals? The FREE Barchart Brief newsletter keeps you in the know. Sign up now! Similarly, PARA has trailed the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLC), which has gained about 27.9% over the past year. However, PARA's double-digit returns on a YTD basis outshine the ETF's 10.6% rally over the same time frame. Paramount shares rose over 1% in pre-market trading on July 25, after receiving Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) approval for the company's merger with Skydance Media. This approval marks a significant step forward in the proposed deal, which aims to combine Paramount's extensive content library and global distribution network with Skydance's innovative production capabilities and strong track record in film and television. For fiscal 2025, ending in December, analysts expect PARA's EPS to decline 15.6% year over year to $1.30 on a diluted basis. The company's earnings surprise history is mixed. It beat the consensus estimate in three of the last four quarters, while missing the forecast on another occasion. Among the 23 analysts covering PARA stock, the consensus is a 'Moderate Sell.' That's based on two 'Strong Buy' ratings, 11 'Holds,' and 10 'Strong Sells.' This configuration is more bearish than three months ago, with three analysts suggesting a 'Strong Buy.' On Jul. 28, Seaport Global Securities downgraded Paramount Global from 'Neutral' to 'Sell,' setting a price target of $11 ahead of its August 7 merger with Skydance. The firm cautions that PARA shares may give back recent merger-driven gains after the deal closes. The company will begin trading under the new ticker PSKY post-merger. While PARA currently trades above its average mean price target of $11.67, its Street-high price target of $16 suggests an ambitious upside potential of 22.7%. On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Earnings Preview: What To Expect From Paychex's Report
With a market cap of $52.7 billion, Paychex, Inc. (PAYX) is a leading provider of human capital management solutions, specializing in payroll, HR, benefits, and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses. The company offers a comprehensive suite of customizable services to help businesses efficiently manage their workforce. Analysts project the Rochester, New York-based company to report an adjusted EPS of $1.22 in Q1 2026, a 5.2% growth from $1.16 in the year-ago quarter. The company has exceeded Wall Street's bottom-line estimates in the last four quarters. More News from Barchart Tesla Just Signed a Chip Supply Deal with Samsung. What Does That Mean for TSLA Stock? Dear Microsoft Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for Aug. 1 Is Lucid Motors Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold for July 2025? Get exclusive insights with the FREE Barchart Brief newsletter. Subscribe now for quick, incisive midday market analysis you won't find anywhere else. For fiscal 2026, analysts forecast the payroll processing services expert to report adjusted EPS of $5.46, up 9.6% from $4.98 in fiscal 2025. PAYX stock has increased 16.3% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming the broader S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 17.1% return and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund's (XLI) 22.3% gain over the same period. Despite Paychex beating Q4 2025 estimates with adjusted EPS of $1.19 and revenue of $1.4 billion, shares tumbled 9.4% on Jun. 25 due to a sharp 11% drop in operating income to $431.1 million and a 700-basis-point decline in operating margin to 30.2%, both missing expectations. Analysts' consensus view on Paychex stock is cautious, with a "Hold" rating overall. Among 16 analysts covering the stock, 14 suggest a "Hold" and two provide a "Strong Sell" rating. As of writing, the stock is trading below the average analyst price target of $151. On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
