“It’s not a trivial thing for the mobile frontline to start selling fixed products,” Svalek says. Though FWA in form, in practice it’s more like a fixed offering, “I don’t think it’s a wireless product in the nature, in quality, and in the sales processes,” explains Svalek.įor a mobile operator, sailing into fixed territory requires a change in mindset and operations. T-Mobile Czech Republic has its eye on FWA technology – specifically Huawei’s WTTx solution – as the key to bridging the quality gap, a bold move considering that FWA is uncharted waters for most mobile operators. Svalek explains that a lack of fixed infrastructure in the Czech Republic is creating a quality gap that fast movers in the mobile domain can exploit, “Other players haven’t been investing heavily in future-proof fixed broadband technologies like FTTH broadband penetration isn’t at acceptable levels.” He goes on to state the surprisingly large opportunity this presents given that, “The product offering for over 40 percent of the population isn’t very good.” Therefore, agrees the company’s Innovation Manager Jan Fiser, “It’s logical for us to migrate those users to WTTx because of higher margins compared to reselling DSL.” Shifting to fixed However, according to Svalek there’s still plenty of opportunity for growth, “A lot of broadband coverage is either mediocre, with low speeds, low-quality, or, I would say, based on obsolete technologies like Wi-Fi.” Indeed, the surge in home device connections and blind spots are providing a substandard Wi-Fi experience for many, while all-you-can-eat data plans and the rise in competing technologies like LTE-U and FWA are challenging the wireless stalwart’s popularity. In the first three quarters of 2017, it grew its user base by 128,000 and kicked up revenues by a healthy 3.2 percent.
With nearly 6.2 million subscribers under its belt, T-Mobile Czech Republic enjoys a decisive market lead. The mobile operator’s Executive Director B2C Dusan Svalek explains how Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) in the form of WTTx can plug a connectivity gap in the nation of nearly 11 million and open up new business models in readiness for 5G.
And Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Mobile Czech Republic is no exception. Today’s competitive and transformative communications environment means that even market leaders have to make bold moves not just to stay at the top, but to stay in the game.
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