The full name of CPE is Customer Premise Equipment.The so-called front-end refers to the equipment in front of the customer's terminal equipment.When we use Wi-Fi, if we are far away or have more rooms, it is easy to have signal blind spots.Causing the phone or iPad or computer to be unable to receive Wi-Fi signals.CPE, on the other hand, can relay Wi-Fi signals twice to extend the coverage of Wi-Fi.
Through the following comparison table, it is not difficult to understand the technical advantages of CPE products:
Currently, the global 5G FWA service is mainly in the Sub-6GHz band, and only the United States and Italy support the millimeter-wave band.
| Using the device | CPE | Wi Fi router | Mobile hotspot |
| Signal source | Base station, mobile data chip | Cable, modem | Base station, mobile data chip |
| Signal coverage | Wider (good penetration) | same as | Small-scale |
| consumption | low | low | tall |
| Usage frequency band | Sub-6GHz, millimeter wave | 2.4GHz、5GHz | Sub-6GHz、millimeter wave |
| transfer rate | >2Gbps | >10Gbps | 100Gbps~500Mbps |
| Number of connected devices | ~64 | ~64 | ~10 |
5G CPE combines the low cost of Wi-Fi and the large bandwidth of 5G, combining the advantages of both.Form a powerful complement to the traditional optical fiber broadband.
| Internet access method | Fiber broadband ("Light Cat") | 5G CPE |
| Connect objects up | passive optical network | 5G base station |
| External network speed (Theoretical peak) | 100M/200M/500M/1000M bps | NSA:4.1Gbps/660Mbps SA:2.1Gbps/900Mbps |
| Cost of use | low | low |
| mobility | Immovable Require fiber optic access resources | Can be moved 5G signal coverage is sufficient |
| delay | millisecond | millisecond |
It can be said that FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) will be the most grounded application of 5G technology.The FWA business plays a key role in enabling "connecting the unconnected.".FWA is a low-cost, easy-to-deploy, flexible broadband solution.Compared with wired access technology, FWA does not need to obtain the right of way, dig ditches and bury cables, and drill holes through walls.It has always been an ideal choice for broadband deployment in many countries and regions. The development of 5G technology further promotes the development of FWA.
The number of FWA users (including 4G and 5G) has reached 100 million.FWA is no longer a niche service; The entire FWA industry is already supported by numerous vendors. Why is that?In the 5G era, 5G CPE receives 5G signals from operator base stations and then converts them into Wi-Fi signals or wired signals.Get more local devices online. For operators, the initial user penetration rate of 5G is low, and the investment is difficult to realize quickly.The CPE service can make use of the idle network and increase the revenue for the operators.Therefore, major operators vigorously promote the development of 5G CPE.
FWA service can be used for both home (To C) and business (To B). When customers use FWA service in different application environments,The requirements for CPE equipment are also different.This results in consumer 5G CPE and industrial 5G CPE (similar to home routers and industrial routers).
In 2020, the global market size of 5G CPE will reach 3 million units, which is expected to be in the next five years.The market scale of 5G CPE will maintain a compound growth rate of more than 100%, reaching 120 million units in 2025, with a market value of 60 billion yuan.As an important market for 5G CPE, China's 5G CPE market will reach 1.5 million units in 2020.It is expected to reach 80 million units in 2025, with a market value of 27 billion yuan.
CPE can support a large number of mobile terminals accessing the Internet at the same time, and the device can directly insert the SIM card to receive mobile signals.CPE can be widely used in wireless network access in rural areas, towns, hospitals, units, factories, residential areas and so on.The cost of laying a wired network can be saved.
A Router is a hardware device that connects two or more networks and acts as a gateway between them.It is the main node equipment of the Internet. Routers use routing to decide how to forward data.If it is a home router, it does not support a SIM card slot.It can only receive signals by accessing optical fibers or network cables and then convert them into Wi-Fi to provide a certain number (several) of terminal devices to access the Internet.
Industrial 5G CPE is equivalent to 5G industrial router, and there is little technical difference between them.On the one hand, industrial 5G CPE converts 5G network signals into WiFi signals for transmission.On the other hand, the data received by the WiFi network is converted into 5G network signals for uploading.In addition, industrial 5G CPE generally supports routing function.
According to a survey report, after evaluating the products of some mainstream 5G CPE suppliers,Many organizations believe that the development of 5G CPE products will continue in two aspects: one is to support both mmWave and Sub-6 GHz;Second, the design will pay attention to humanized operation and installation.The development trend of the industry will accelerate the demand for 5G in the medical, education and manufacturing industries due to the epidemic.5G FWA will drive global 5G CPE shipments.
