Fixed Wireless: The Dark Horse

Getting the Internet Right: Part 7 of 12

When most people think about business internet options, they think about the usual suspects: DSL, cable, fiber. Fixed wireless rarely enters the conversation, and that's a shame, because in the right situation it can be an excellent choice that solves problems the more familiar options can't.

Fixed wireless is exactly what it sounds like. It's an internet connection delivered wirelessly, using radio signals between an antenna on your building and a tower or tall building operated by the provider. Unlike mobile wireless (your cell phone), fixed wireless uses a stationary antenna pointed directly at the provider's equipment, which gives it characteristics much closer to a wired connection than most people expect.

How fixed wireless works

The basic setup is straightforward. The provider installs a small antenna on the roof or exterior wall of your building. That antenna establishes a direct radio link with a base station that the provider operates, usually on a tower, a rooftop, or some other elevated structure within a few miles of your location. The base station connects to the provider's backbone network, typically via fiber, and from there you reach the broader internet.

The link between your antenna and the base station needs a clear or mostly clear path. This is called "line of sight," and it's the most important factor in whether fixed wireless will work at your specific location. If there's a tall building, a hill, or dense tree cover between your building and the provider's base station, the signal may not be able to reach you, or it may be degraded enough that the connection won't be reliable.

Some fixed wireless providers use frequencies that are more forgiving about obstructions than others. Lower frequency signals can partially penetrate or bend around obstacles, while higher frequency signals, particularly millimeter wave frequencies, need a cleaner path. The specific technology the provider uses determines how strict the line of sight requirement is.

The performance profile

Fixed wireless performance varies significantly depending on the technology, the frequency, and the provider. At the lower end, you might see speeds comparable to a good DSL connection. At the higher end, modern fixed wireless using millimeter wave or licensed spectrum can deliver symmetrical speeds of 100 Mbps to a gigabit with latency and jitter that rival fiber.

The variability in fixed wireless performance is one reason the technology has a mixed reputation. Early fixed wireless deployments, particularly those using unlicensed spectrum in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, were susceptible to interference from other wireless devices in the area and could be unreliable. If you tried fixed wireless ten years ago and had a bad experience, the technology has improved considerably since then.

The key factors that determine fixed wireless quality are:

Licensed versus unlicensed spectrum. Providers using licensed spectrum have exclusive rights to their frequency range in their area, which means no interference from other users. This is a big deal. Unlicensed spectrum is shared, and while modern equipment is much better at dealing with interference than older gear, licensed spectrum provides a fundamentally more reliable foundation.

Frequency band. Higher frequencies generally support higher speeds but require cleaner line of sight and are more affected by weather. Lower frequencies travel further and handle obstructions better but support lower speeds. Many providers use a mix, with higher frequencies for high capacity connections and lower frequencies for connections that need to work at longer distances or through moderate obstructions.

Contention ratio. Just like cable internet, some fixed wireless providers share the capacity at each tower among multiple customers. The split ratio and the number of active customers on a given tower determine how much contention there is. Better providers engineer their networks with enough capacity per tower to avoid congestion issues, but not all providers are equally disciplined about this.

Weather sensitivity. Radio signals at higher frequencies can be affected by heavy rain, a phenomenon called rain fade. The severity depends on the frequency and the distance. Shorter links and lower frequencies are less affected. For most well engineered fixed wireless connections, rain fade causes a temporary reduction in maximum throughput rather than an outage, and the effect is minimal on shorter links.

Where fixed wireless shines

Fixed wireless fills some gaps that other technologies can't easily reach.

Areas where fiber isn't available and cable is the only wired option. If your building is in an area where the cable infrastructure is old or congested and fiber hasn't been built out yet, fixed wireless may offer a better connection than cable, especially from a provider using licensed spectrum. This is common in suburban business parks, industrial areas, and smaller cities where the wireline infrastructure hasn't kept pace with demand.

Buildings where running new cable is difficult or expensive. Some buildings, particularly older ones, historic buildings, or buildings with complicated tenant situations, make it impractical to bring in new wired service. Fixed wireless only needs an exterior antenna and a cable run from the roof to your suite, which avoids the need for construction in shared spaces or expensive conduit work.

Fast deployment. Fixed wireless can often be installed in days rather than weeks or months. If you need a connection quickly, whether for a new location, a temporary office, or because your primary connection just went down and the repair timeline is unacceptable, fixed wireless can bridge the gap much faster than a new wired circuit.

Redundancy. Because fixed wireless uses a completely different physical path than wired connections, it's an excellent choice for a backup circuit. If your primary connection is fiber or cable and the cable gets cut, whether by a construction crew, a car hitting a utility pole, or anything else that damages underground or aerial plant, your fixed wireless connection is unaffected because it doesn't use any of the same infrastructure. We'll explore this more in the Redundancy and Failover post.

Where fixed wireless struggles

Dense urban areas with tall buildings. Getting a clear line of sight to a provider's tower can be challenging when you're surrounded by taller buildings. Fixed wireless tends to work better at higher floors or in less dense settings.

Heavily wooded areas. Trees, particularly trees with dense foliage, can block or significantly degrade fixed wireless signals, especially at higher frequencies. This is an even bigger factor in deciduous forests, where the connection quality might change seasonally as leaves grow in and fall off.

Very long distances. While some fixed wireless technologies can work at distances of 10 miles or more, performance generally degrades with distance. The best fixed wireless experience is typically within a few miles of the base station.

Extreme weather. While normal rain and wind don't typically affect a well installed fixed wireless link, severe storms, heavy ice accumulation on the antenna, or extremely high winds can cause temporary service degradation or outage. This is rare, but it's worth knowing about if your business is in an area prone to severe weather.

Evaluating a fixed wireless provider

If you're considering fixed wireless, there are a few specific things to ask the provider:

Are they using licensed or unlicensed spectrum? Licensed is strongly preferred for business use.

What frequency band? This tells you about the tradeoff between speed, distance, and weather sensitivity.

What is the contention ratio on the tower that would serve your location? Lower is better. Some providers offer dedicated bandwidth options on their fixed wireless network, similar to DIA on fiber.

Will they do a site survey? A reputable provider will survey your location before committing, to verify that line of sight is achievable and that the signal quality will support the speeds they're quoting. Be wary of any provider that quotes speeds and signs you up without physically checking the path. After installation, running a VoIP quality test will confirm whether the connection actually delivers the consistency that voice traffic demands.

What's the SLA? Some fixed wireless providers offer SLAs comparable to wired DIA providers. Others offer best effort service similar to cable. This varies significantly from provider to provider.

The takeaway on fixed wireless

Fixed wireless has earned its place as a serious business internet option, not just a fallback for when nothing else is available. Modern fixed wireless using licensed spectrum and engineered properly can deliver performance that's competitive with wired connections at a competitive price point, often with faster installation.

The decision comes down to what's available at your specific location and how it compares to the wired options. In some areas, fixed wireless is genuinely the best available option. In others, it's a strong complement to a wired primary connection. And in others, the line of sight challenges make it impractical. A site survey from a qualified provider is the only way to know for sure.

Next up: Satellite: The Last Resort (and When It's the Only Resort), the option that's always available, and why that's both its greatest strength and its most common misconception.