Fixed Wireless Access takes on starring role in 5G for T-Mobile and Verizon

Things have been looking up for fixed wireless access (FWA) for some time now. Indeed, by the end of 2022, FWA is not only thriving, but it’s also playing a starring role in 5G. It hasn’t always been this way. In earlier iterations, FWA didn’t pan out for mobile operators. But in more recent years and with 5G, the consumer premise equipment (CPE) has seen notable improvements, new spectrum is adding to the available capacity, and demand is going through the roof. According to T-Mobile’s 2022 State of Fixed Wireless report, the company identified one of the big factors driving FWA’s growth: Consumer hatred toward their cable companies. Traditional broadband providers rank dead last in customer satisfaction among all industries, and customers are just plain hungry for alternatives. Of course, cable companies aren’t rolling over, and one can expect them to ramp up the rhetoric against FWA. Comcast recently launched a website and series of ads dedicated to disparaging T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet service, claiming the service slows down during heavy network daytime usage. For now, the big FWA players are T-Mobile and Verizon, with T-Mobile planning to serve 7 million to 8 million FWA subscribers by the end of 2025, and Verizon expecting to serve about 4 million to 5 million fixed wireless customers within a similar timeframe.