As fixed wireless matures, Baicells pursues fiber and enterprise opportunities

Baicells said Tuesday it plans to begin offering fiber products in addition to its fixed wireless access (FWA) equipment offerings. The company also hinted at interest in expanding its focus into the enterprise market amid its customers' push into private wireless networking applications.

The moves reflect the small equipment vendor's reaction to new developments in the marketplace. According to Tony Eigen, VP of Baicells' global marketing, the company has found significant success in the fixed wireless industry, with more than 700 LTE deployments worldwide. But, "that market is kind of mature, it's consolidating," he said.

Eigen's comments come as the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) kicked off its Wispapalooza trade show this week in Las Vegas. The association said its annual fall event is expected to gather more than 2,000 attendees and exhibitors, alongside around 180 vendors, to discuss the market for FWA services.

But the space is in a state of flux, mainly due to massive federal funding programs that are pumping billions of dollars into fiber network buildouts rather than fixed wireless operations. Although there are some indications that fixed wireless providers may be eligible for some funding, regulators' clear preference for fiber networks is pushing vendors and providers to shift to fiber.

Related:FWA captures 90% of all new US customers, pleasing around 90% of them

For example, fixed wireless equipment provider Cambium Networks said it will release a fiber product later this year. Similarly, private investment company GI Partners recently announced completion of its purchase of Rise Broadband, one of the nation's biggest independent fixed wireless Internet providers, partly to help shift the provider's focus to fiber.

The shift from FWA to fiber is ironic considering virtually all the growth in the US broadband market is attributable to the fixed wireless offerings from T-Mobile and Verizon. According to Leichtman Research Group, the two companies added about 890,000 fixed wireless subscribers in the second quarter of 2023, well ahead of the 10,000 subscribers added by US cable companies in the period and the 450,000 subscribers added by fiber companies.

From fixed wireless to fiber

Baicells doesn't sell to big 5G network operators like Verizon and T-Mobile. Instead, it markets its products to the several thousand independent fixed wireless Internet providers scattered throughout the US. According to some recent estimates, those small, independent fixed wireless operators collectively count around 10 million customers across the US.

Related:WISPs freak over guidelines that may exclude FWA in unlicensed spectrum

Baicells competes with companies such as Ubiquiti, Cambium, BLiNQ Networks and Tarana Networks, which also specifically target fixed wireless network operators. But Baicells also bumps up against Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung, which offer fixed wireless equipment in addition to equipment intended for mobile 5G networks.

Now, Baicells is looking to challenge fiber vendors like Calix and Adtran by also offering some fiber products, including optical network terminal (ONT) devices. Eigen explained that Baicells is selling fiber components so its FWA customers can connect their existing equipment into a fiber network. Meaning, they will be able to put fiber deeper into their existing operations.

"They're building out more wireless, but with these products they can also add the fiber as well," he explained. "Operationally ... it makes it a little more simple." 

Eigen readily acknowledged that Baicells' fiber play is a reaction to the Biden administration's $42.45 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which is primarily funneling money to fiber buildouts. "Part of our motivation is to try and tap into that," he said.

In addition to a focus on fiber, Eigen hinted that Baicells may also look to target enterprises as well as telecom companies. He said Baicells' customers increasingly are using the company's equipment for private wireless networks, which potentially opens the door for it to sell directly to enterprise customers.

In doing so, Baicells would be following the likes of Nokia and Ericsson into the private wireless marketplace. The two networking giants are working to expand their opportunities beyond network operators by selling their equipment directly to enterprises as well.

Eigen declined to provide revenue or sales figures for Baicells' fixed wireless offerings, nor would he outline the company's fiber and enterprise sales goals.

The China question

Eigen acknowledged Baicells does occasionally have to address questions from customers about the origins of its equipment. That's because some of the company's FCC filings indicate Baicells operates in China.

"It comes up from time to time, no doubt," he said.

Eigen explained that Baicells does have some operations in China but that the company manufactures products in Taiwan. He also said the company's software compiling is conducted outside of China.

"We're aware of that sensitivity," he said, adding that San Diego-based Qualcomm is an investor in Baicells and that the company has business with federal and state agencies in the US.

"This is not ZTE, this is not Huawei," he said. "We have the paperwork to back that up." 

There are widespread concerns among US government officials that equipment from Chinese companies like ZTE and Huawei can be used for Chinese espionage. As a result, those companies have been effectively blocked from the US market. Further, some US operators using equipment from the vendors are being forced to tear out that equipment and replace it with "trusted" equipment.