As fixed wireless access gains fresh momentum worldwide, Mimosa Networks’ unlicensed-spectrum technology is emerging as a strategic complement to fibre and 5G – powering Reliance Jio’s surging AirFiber service and offering global operators a faster and more flexible route to close coverage gaps in both rural and urban markets.
In sum – what to know:
Thousands, daily – Backed by Reliance Jio, Mimosa’s platform underpins a multi-million-subscriber AirFiber service that is adding thousands of users daily, validating unlicensed FWA at national scale.
Practical solution – By offloading traffic from strained mobile networks, bypassing fibre shortages, and enabling rapid, low-capex deployments, unlicensed FWA strengthens the broadband business case.
Expanding markets – Beyond line-of-sight tech and millimetre-wave integration mean Mimosa is extending FWA usage into urban venues, enterprise campuses, and temporary high-capacity deployments.
Two and a half years after being acquired by Indian operator Reliance Jio, US-based private network specialist Mimosa Networks has become like the poster-child for one of the fastest-growing tech trends in the whole telecoms space: fixed-wireless access (FWA). Last year marked an inflection point for the firm, reckons Jim Nevelle, its general manager. “It has taken off. And I mean, not just taken off – it has been like a rocket ship.”
Mostly, Nevelle is referring to Mimosa’s success in India with Reliance Jio, which acquired the firm in a $60 million deal at the end of 2023 – specifically to stand-up its AirFiber scheme to connect rural India, and unburden its 4G/5G network of home-hotpot traffic. Mimosa offers “fibre-like” FWA broadband in the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands; it is unlicensed spectrum, used tactically – in volume – to preserve licensed carrier assets for regular mobile usage.
Its name is a portmanteau of MIMO, per its use of multiple (input/output) antennas at transmitter and receiver level, and spectrum analysis (SA), per its channel optimisation software. Its portfolio spans point-to-point backhaul radios and point-to-multipoint (PTMP) access solutions, and is used by wireless ISPs and operators to extend high-speed connectivity to areas where fibre deployment is too slow, expensive, or impractical.
India is a captive market for FWA offload, says Nevelle. The AirFiber service, built on Mimosa’s tech, now serves millions of households; Reliance Jio is adding thousands of subscribers every day, he suggests. That momentum has reverberated globally, too. “The rest of the world has opened up its arms,” he says. “We are deploying around the planet… on almost every continent.” He references major rollouts in North and South America, plus Africa as well.
As above, the company’s proposition is distinct from mainstream 3GPP-based 4G and 5G FWA. Its systems operate in unlicensed bands – the same ones used for Wi-Fi – but are engineered for carrier-grade broadband. Architecturally, the model is simple: an access point mounted on a tower and a customer premises device at the home. But strategically, it solves three pressing problems for operators, explains Nevelle.
Firstly, it relieves pressure on mobile networks. In many markets, like India and elsewhere, smartphones double as home hotspots, placing strain on cellular infrastructure designed primarily for mobility. “The network wasn’t built to support that many cell phones as hotspots,” says Nevelle. By offloading fixed usage onto purpose-built unlicensed FWA, operators protect their licensed 4G/5G capacity for mobile services.
Secondly (and thirdly), the solution addresses fiber scarcity (and fiber deployment costs and schedules) – whether because of the size of countries, or the volume of people. In India – with a population of more than 1.4 billion; where Reliance Jio has 500 million subscribers, and still needs help – fibre cannot economically or physically reach every household, notes Nevelle. Wireless becomes an “overlay” where fibre is absent or delayed, he says.
In markets like the US, the timeline to extend dense fiber infrastructure to new locales often hobbles the business case. “Carriers and enterprises view fibre deployments in terms of years,” he says. By contrast, unlicensed FWA links can be activated in hours. Anecdotally, Mimosa engineers have provisioned connectivity to venues in just 30 minutes, where fibre was unavailable, he says. “Between those three things, it is a pretty impressive business case.”
There is also money available, often. In the US, federal funding to close the digital divide has reinforced interest in alternative models. Fibre and satellite play roles, but neither is universally viable. “Certain situations – there’s no magic bullet,” Nevelle says. Unlicensed FWA provides what he calls a “broad brush” for underserved communities. New automated frequency coordination (AFC) at 6 GHz has unlocked spectrum and reduced interference, as well.
“There is a major resurgence of unlicensed service offerings in the US,” he says.
Although rural broadband remains core to the solution’s appeal, everywhere, the balance shifts by region. Limited infrastructure outside major cities in Africa, for example, also makes affordable FWA connectivity “transformative”, he says. Mountainous terrain, like in Latin America, invariably renders fibre impractical, and unlicensed FWA like a dream solution. More than this, use cases extend beyond home broadband.
Mimosa is serving municipalities with a point-to-multipoint version of the same – to create private wireless networks linking city halls, libraries, schools, and police departments without investing in licensed spectrum. Temporary environments – pop-up music festivals and markets, say – also benefit from rapidly-deployable high-capacity systems where fibre doesn’t even get a look in. Enterprise campuses are another growth sector, says Nevelle..
And its addressable market is expanding with its technology and portfolio. A limitation of 5 GHz and 6 GHz FWA has been line-of-sight requirements between towers and premises. Mimosa’s latest C6 platform addresses this with non-line-of-sight capability, enabling service in dense urban environments where buildings obstruct direct paths. “The response… has been transformative for the business case,” says Nevelle.
Operators can now reach more customers in cities, not just rural zones, he says. Further ahead, Mimosa is also exploring licensed millimetre-wave spectrum – not traditional sub-6 GHz cellular bands, but underutilised higher frequencies already held by carriers. The aim is to apply the same architectural model to new spectrum assets and strengthen operator return on investment. For Nevelle, the message is a pragmatic one.
“There is no silver bullet in telecoms,” he says. “You always have to use the right tool.” As 5G evolves towards standalone, advanced releases and eventually 6G, unlicensed and alternative-spectrum FWA will not replace fibre or macro cellular networks. But it adds flexibility. In rural settings, behind skyscrapers, or where fibre economics falter, it offers operators another lever. “We’re giving them tools to be more successful,” he says.
