New Spec Looks to Make 5G Fixed Wireless Broadband Viable for Blocks of Flats

The Broadband Forum has published a new technical report that outlines how multiple tenants and apartments (MDU – Multi-Dwelling Units) could receive gigabit broadband connectivity through a single 5G based Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) network connection, not least by reusing some of the building’s existing infrastructure.

Sadly, not every large residential apartment building (MDU) can have a new fibre optic connection installed (yet), and using FWA solutions is often problematic due to issues of performance or coverage limitations for individual tenants inside such large and complex buildings. This is especially true once you get into the mmWave spectrum bands of 24-40GHz, which don’t penetrate well through walls and are needed for the best multi-gigabit service speeds.

One way around this is to install lots of external receiving equipment / antenna outside each individual apartment. But the wireless signal will often only be able to reach one or two sides of the building and the MDU will usually place tight restrictions on the use or placement of such equipment (issues of safety, power, cosmetics etc.).

The new specification seems to be promoting a hybrid approach, with FWA signals bringing the connection to a central point in the building and then the building’s existing property infrastructure (i.e. twisted pair, telephone wiring, or coaxial cabling – from the attic or basement of the building) being used to reach individual flats / apartments.

The project, which first began in 2023, has now defined the architecture and requirements to show how this would work via TR-507 and MR-516.

Christele Bouchat, Broadband Forum Network Architecture Work Area Co-Director, said:

“In the past, restrictions set by property owners or the design of existing MDU buildings have limited the possibilities for making high-capacity broadband services available to these subscribers. The latest specification addresses these limitations by allowing the installation of a high-performance 5G outdoor FWA system that can be shared by potentially dozens of tenants and connected through existing cabling already in the building.”

The idea of using existing cabling to distribute a broadband service within an MDU is nothing new, although such approaches often run into the limitations of such infrastructure at some point. In this case it’s a little bit hard to judge because we haven’t yet jumped from this specification to a commercially viable product and, at least for the UK, such an approach seems likely to be superseded by the existing deployment of full fibre (FTTP/B) networks.