Address Qualification
By Kent Lundgren, VP Marketing
mmWave Mythology, Part I shared some lessons learned on mmWave signal penetration into MDUs. In short, not all building materials, including low-E glass, prevent mmWave signal penetration into MDUs. But can every residential unit in an MDU acquire an adequate signal?
The answer is typically no, but enough units must do so to justify the cost of deploying coverage given a fair estimate of subscriber uptake. These factors will vary by MDU, but both rely on knowing exactly which residential units have enough signal to make them sales-ready.
Before Pivotal declares an MDU building FWA sales-ready, it notifies the carrier which residential units can acquire a satisfactory mmWave signal indoors. This way, when a prospect signs up for premium service — that is, service enabled by mmWave — and later receives their equipment, they can install it themselves and acquire service as easily as if they’d ordered regular service enabled by midband.
mmWave FWA must, like midband FWA, remain easy and convenient to order and install because, according to Recon Analytics survey data from March 2024, FWA customers are happier with their service than with service through any other technology. This is why FWA is the fastest growing segment of the home internet market while cable subscriptions are decreasing.
To help carriers ascertain which units qualify for premium mmWave service and which don’t, Pivotal supplies them with a list of MDU residential addresses, including unit numbers that can receive a satisfactory mmWave signal indoors. While the concept may be simple, realizing it requires highly accurate data: data which includes propagation, serving node locations (both gNBs and Pivots), and residential unit footprints. Pivotal’s address qualification utilizes such data from its WaveScape and IBMS products, providing a unique set of integrated, high-quality data.
As noted above, not every residential unit can acquire a satisfactory mmWave signal. Figure 1, left, shows MDU subscribers acquiring FWA service via mmWave (green) or via midband (red). Figure 1, right, shows expanded mmWave coverage using Pivots (orange). Unless the building owner agrees to mount Pivots on the roof, the circled units (red) facing the interior courtyard must continue acquiring FWA via midband.
To generate an acceptable ROI, carriers offset the cost of deploying Pivots and gNBs with anticipated subscriber uptake, which, in turn, requires knowing which units have adequate signal. This is the purpose of address qualification.