Newcomer Netylink vies for slice of booming FWA market

Betting on the fixed wireless access (FWA) segment, Brazilian equipment manufacturer Elsys launched a "telecom operator" focused exclusively on this connectivity model, which is slowly beginning to advance among end-users in Latin America.

Dubbed Netylink, the company claims to be the first fixed wireless internet carrier in Brazil, with plans for expansion in the region, possibly starting in Chile.

“We’ve been working with FWA for 10 years. At Elsys, we’re certainly the biggest FWA player in Brazil. Now we’ve launched a specific operation,” Damian Zisman, CEO of both Elsys and Netylink, told BNamericas.

Netylink relies on the 4G and 5G signals of operators Telefônica Brasil, Claro Brasil and TIM. Unlike an MVNO, the company has a wholesale contract to enhance signal for the FWA model.

The FWA modems are manufactured in Elsys’ plant in Manaus, Amazonas state. According to Zisman, part of the components used in manufacturing are imported. From Manaus, Netylink can serve other markets in South America.

Currently, Elsys operates in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Bolivia, Peru and the United States.

Investments in the FWA operation, as well as in the manufacturing, were not provided. 

In 2021, Elsys had expanded its Manaus factory to 12,000m2 from 9,000m2 to increase production.

There, the company manufactures Wi-Fi devices, digital cameras, TVs and converters, among other security, telecommunications and solar energy equipment.

OPERATION

Netylink's focus is on areas where there is no fiber coverage and in those where there are fiber networks as connectivity redundancy.

“Those who can have fiber will continue to have fiber. But fiber is a physical medium, it can break. Today, typically, the redundancy of fiber is the fiber itself. With FWA there is an alternative,” said Zisman.

Netylink began its operation in São Paulo state, offering monthly plans starting at 299 reais (US$59), and aims to gradually extend the service throughout the country on the back of Elsys' wide distribution and channels network.

Internet use is unlimited – that is, there is no data consumption limit.

In 2016, Elsys began working with satellite internet through a commercial partnership with Hughesnet, acting as an integrator of the satellite company's field installations, network and equipment logistics.

Around that time, the company launched Link3g, which Zisman claims was the first outdoor FWA product in Brazil, to bring connectivity to remote places. It later launched the Amplimax family of products, also in an FWA proposal. The Amplimax line has around 400,000 users in Brazil.

The difference now is the specific FWA operation and new mobile signal amplification technologies. Netylink will serve the customer with sales, after-sales and service, said Zisman.

The new company targets a market of around 2mn broadband users who currently lack fiber coverage and intends to reach 100,000 subscribers by year-end.