Airtel’s 5G Push with Ericsson: What It Means for Property Owners

Your building could be the next big thing in telecom. As Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio India race to roll out high‑speed 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), a new war has begun: rooftops, building facades and even open land properties are suddenly the hottest real estate in town. Why? Because whoever controls the spot where the signal lands, deliver data, pipeline for transactions, advertising, cloud services and much more.

With Airtel’s latest partnership with Ericsson to supercharge its 5G core, operators are gearing up to deploy FWA - and they need physical space to install their gear. That’s where property owners and agents come in: your terrace, your office rooftop or your village plot could be the next critical node in India’s broadband revolution. In this blog, we’ll break down what’s driving the FWA boom, why your property matters more than ever, and how you can turn those unused square feet into a steady stream of passive income

India’s 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) market is booming. According to Research, the India 5G Fixed Wireless Access market generated USD 32.7 billion in revenue in 2024 and is projected to skyrocket to USD 208.6 billion by 2030.

• From niche to mainstream: India’s overall fixed wireless access market (wired + wireless) is expected to reach USD 812.6 million by 2030 - an astonishing 41.4% CAGR over 2024–2030.
• Global momentum: Worldwide FWA connections are set to climb from 130 million at the end of 2023 to 330 million by 2029, demonstrating how FWA fills fiber gaps and accelerates broadband access in underserved regions.
• Subscriber growth: India had just 5.72 million 5G FWA users by Jan 2025. Jio leads with ~85%, Airtel holds ~15%
• Government support: Initiatives like BharatNet and the forthcoming National Broadband Mission 2.0 aim to connect hundreds of thousands of villages by 2030, further fueling demand for last‑mile wireless solutions.

But scaling access isn’t enough, Airtel is now upgrading the very core of its 5G engine to power the future.

On July 9, 2025, Bharti Airtel and Ericsson unveiled a deal to deploy Ericsson’s Local Packet Gateway (LPG) - a dual‑mode 5G Core solution optimized for high‑capacity FWA with a reduced hardware footprint and superior total cost of ownership. This upgrade builds on their long‑standing partnership, spanning 25+ years across multiple mobile generations.

Ericsson’s Local Packet Gateway (LPG) brings cloud‑native, containerized 5G core functionality directly to the network edge, slashing latency by up to 30% for Fixed Wireless Access users and enabling operators to elastically scale capacity in real time. With support for both Non‑Standalone and Standalone 5G on a unified platform, Airtel can roll out high‑speed home broadband without disruptive forklift upgrades. The smaller footprint and automation‑driven lifecycle management cut site space, power consumption, and operational costs by nearly 50%, ensuring robust performance even during peak demand - exactly when consumer data needs are surging.

• Operational Efficiency and Scalability

Airtel will also benefit from Ericsson’s AI-powered NOC Managed Services, centralizing operations across 4G, 5G NSA, 5G SA, FWA, private networks, and network slicing. This enables predictive maintenance, real-time analytics, and automated issue resolution.

This upgrade marks a strategic shift in how telecom networks monetize 5G beyond mobile, positioning FWA as a high‑value growth segment with ARPUs three times those of traditional wireless services. By enabling network slicing and localized breakout, operators can tailor service tiers for residential, SME, and enterprise customers, unlocking new revenue streams.

• Future-Ready Services and Monetization

With edge-deployed cloud-native cores in place, Airtel is primed to launch differentiated offerings such as private 5G networks, low-latency cloud gaming, smart city infrastructure, and industrial IoT applications. This opens up tiered service models and sustained ARPU expansion - critical for telecoms seeking long-term profitability in a data-saturated market.

But all these next-gen services still need one essential thing: a physical place to land.

Every centimetre of rooftop, every spare façade, and every open plot is a piece of real estate with earning potential. Hosting FWA equipment is akin to owning a tollbooth on the data highway:

• 1. Passive Income: Telecom operators pay recurring rent payments to site owners monthly to place equipment.
• 2. Minimal Effort: Operators handle everything, from equipment installation, maintenance, upgrades, and compliance with local regulations - so you simply collect your paymentx.
• 3. High Demand: With fiber rollout still lagging, FWA sites are scarce and commanding premium rents. This means rooftops and open spaces are in high demand and can earn you more money.

Whoever owns the physical space for wireless gear controls data delivery, transactions, advertising, and the platform economy.

TowerBuddy is the platform that connects property owners to telecom operators and infrastructure vendors:

• Seamless Listing: Add your rooftop, façade, or land in under 2 minutes
• Instant Matching: Get paired with telecoms Airtel, Jio, Vodafone Idea, Nokia, Ericsson, and more.
• End‑to‑End Support: From due diligence and leasing agreements to e‑signing and site handover, we handle the complexities.
• Transparent Analytics: Track inquiries, site health, and earnings in real time.

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As giants like Airtel make billion‑dollar plays in India’s FWA space, one thing becomes clear: the future of internet delivery is wireless - but that signal still needs a physical place to land. That’s where TowerBuddy steps in. As telecom majors roll out 5G FWA, your property becomes prime real estate in the digital era.

Don’t let your property sit idle while operators scramble for space. List your property on TowerBuddy today and secure your spot in the FWA boom. Whether you own a city rooftop, rural land or any open space, your slice of the telecom infrastructure is waiting.

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