US Cellular expects to expand the new service to additional cities in urban and rural areas of the country
US Cellular, in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies and Inseego, has launched its 5G mmWave high-speed internet service in parts of 10 U.S. cities.
The carrier says that its Home Internet+ solution delivers speeds of up to 300 Mbps, which represents an increase of 10-15 times compared to its 4G LTE home internet offering.
US Cellular’s new internet offering is delivered by the Inseego Wavemaker FW2010 outdoor 5G CPE, powered by the Qualcomm 5G Fixed Wireless Access Platform Gen 1 featuring the Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF system.
The carrier said that the new Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) service is already available in parts of East Moline and Rock Island, Illinois; Bettendorf, Cedar Falls, Davenport, Dubuque and Waterloo, Iowa; Yakima, Washington; and Beloit and Janesville, Wisconsin.
Fixed Wireless Access, or FWA, is a method of providing wireless connectivity to homes and businesses through radio links between two fixed points without the need for fiber and cables for last mile connectivity.
The telco also said that it expects to increase the new offering within those cities and expand to new cities in urban and rural areas.
US Cellular sys that its Home Internet+ service enables seamless video conferencing with “hundreds of participants”, as well as simultaneous streaming of shows, music and gaming.
The Inseego Wavemaker FW2010 outdoor CPE connects to a Wi-Fi router to provide secure internet access for numerous devices throughout a home, business, or office. The CPE can extend mmWave coverage many miles away from a cell tower. It also supports 5G sub-6 GHz and Cat 22 LTE.
Mike Irizarry, EVP and CTO at US Cellular, said: “This FWA solution is key to providing customers affordable and reliable in-home connectivity no matter where they live, and we look forward to expanding it to more areas in 2022 and beyond.”
“This expansion of delivering high-speed internet to untapped cities is a testament to Qualcomm Technologies efforts to bridge the digital divide,” said Gautam Sheoran, vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies. “By equipping operators and OEMs with cost-effective, last-mile technologies, we are able to empower end users and enterprises with best-in-class 5G connectivity for homes and businesses, including those in previously underserved areas.”
In September 2021, US Cellular selected Nokia for the deployment of its Standalone 5G core network. The European vendor said that the 5G SA deployment is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
US Cellular’s deployment of Nokia’s 5G core adds to its existing support for the Radio Access Network (RAN) where Nokia is supplying its AirScale radios for both low-band and mmWave 5G.
Ericsson and Samsung also provide 5G RAN equipment to US Cellular.
US Cellular had activated its first 5G markets in parts of Iowa and Wisconsin in early 2020.
