AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon outline their FWA, fiber expansion plans

Each of the big telephone company operators in the US—Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T—plans to expand the reach of its broadband home Internet service in the coming years. Further, each company plans to do so via a combination of fiber and fixed wireless access (FWA) connections. Those efforts could be supercharged if the operators tap into subsidies from the US government. US states are currently in the process of allocating $42.5 billion in Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) money, with initial network-construction projects expected to start next year. T-Mobile officials suggested that, after trials of the technology, the operator is getting closer to implementing a broader fiber play. That effort would represent a significant development for T-Mobile because—unlike AT&T and Verizon—T-Mobile does not own a wired network. AT&T COO Jeff McElfresh said that the company remains on track to expand its fiber network to 30 million locations by 2025. The company is in the process of replacing large portions of its aging DSL copper network with a combination of fixed wireless and fiber. Verizon's networking chief Joe Russo said that the company remains on track to hit its goal of between 4 million and 5 million FWA customers by 2025. But he also suggested the company could grow beyond that figure.