- T-Mobile has added Cradlepoint to its enterprise 5G FWA portfolio
- The operator is looking to expand its larger business customer base
- T-Mobile noted that the Tractor Supply Company is already using its 5G FWA gear
T-Mobile is expanding its enterprise 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) suppliers as it looks to increase the number and type of business customers using its fixed broadband gear.
T-Mobile has signed on Cradlepoint as its second enterprise FWA supplier, after Cisco. The Ericsson company will offer T-Mobile business customers its X10 5G FWA router, the E300 router and W1850 and W1855 adapters, which can boost 4G and 5G connections in office areas where the signals would otherwise be weak or non-existent.
“All of them are applicable to specific customer use cases and needs. We are particularly excited about the X10 as the price point will help us address more price sensitive customers, particularly small and medium businesses,” Kelly Dorsey, VP of corporate communications at Ericsson’s Cradlepoint, told us in an email.
“Through Resale we are already selling with most major carriers and channel partners in North America, EMEA and Australia while quickly expanding in other regions as well,” Dorsey said. “But we see the carrier market moving heavily towards managed service offerings and this launch with T-Mobile is a key example of where we see the carrier FWA market moving.”
T-Mobile, of course, has already expanded its small business customer base. Roger Entner, lead analyst at Recon Analytics, noted: “T-Mobile is very strong in the small business area,” where AT&T is “very strong in enterprise” and Verizon is strong in the mid-sized company sector.
“T-Mobile wants to move upmarket into larger businesses,” Entner stated. Adding to its 5G FWA router options will hopefully enable it to extend its customer base.
T-Mobile talks 5G FWA
“Quickly following the launch of Connected Workplace with Cisco/Meraki earlier this year – the addition of Cradlepoint and the X10 helps us continue to meet the needs of enterprise customers,” a T-Mobile spokesperson told Fierce. “But we’ll continue to introduce even more hardware options that will enhance the solution to meet the evolving needs of our customers, including enterprise.”
The operator noted that the nation’s largest rural lifestyle retailer, the Tractor Supply Company, is already using T-Mobile’s 5G FWA gear in stores.