Ericsson counted 185 million fixed wireless access (FWA) connections worldwide at the end of 2025 and forecasts 350 million by 2031, with about 85% of them running on 5G (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2026). The service has moved from a rural stopgap to a mainstream home broadband option: 71% of FWA providers now deliver it over 5G, up from 57% a year earlier, and the three largest US carriers passed 17 million FWA connections in Q1 2026, roughly 13.74% of US home broadband (Ookla, 1H 2026). India is the other engine, with 13.45 million 5G FWA subscribers at the end of August 2026 (TRAI). For the wider rollout picture, see our 5G adoption statistics. We aggregated data from Ericsson, Ookla, TRAI, the FCC, GSA, Point Topic, Omdia, ACSI, and the SEC filings of Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Comcast and Charter, plus the other primary sources listed in the methodology.
TL;DR
- 185 million FWA connections worldwide at end of 2025, forecast to reach 350 million by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2026).
- 71% of FWA service providers now offer the service over 5G, up from 57% in June 2025 (Ericsson, June 2026).
- FWA carried 28% of all mobile network data traffic in 2025, forecast to reach 36% by 2031 (Ericsson, June 2026).
- 51.3 million fixed broadband subscribers on FWA in Q1 2026, up 41.07% year over year (Point Topic, Q1 2026).
- 17 million+ FWA connections across Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T in Q1 2026, about 13.74% of US home broadband (Ookla, 1H 2026).
- T-Mobile ended 2025 with 8.5 million 5G broadband customers after adding 1.9 million in the year (T-Mobile Q4 2025 results).
- Verizon had 6.208 million FWA connections at June 30, 2026, up 21.4% year over year (Verizon 2Q 2026 earnings).
- AT&T added 279,000 Internet Air customers in Q2 2026 and passed 2 million subscribers in July 2026 (AT&T, 2026).
- Comcast lost 167,000 and Charter lost 172,000 broadband customers in Q2 2026 (company filings, July 2026).
- 13.45 million 5G FWA subscribers in India in August 2026, 51.90% of them rural (TRAI, September 2026).
- T-Mobile led Q2 2026 FWA median download speeds at 222.7 Mbps (Ookla, 1H 2026).
- 276 operators in 116 countries have launched 5G FWA (GSA, 2026).
1. Global FWA Connections and Forecasts
FWA is no longer a niche product sold where fiber is missing. Ericsson’s FWA outlook counts 185 million connections at the end of 2025 and forecasts 350 million by 2031, serving around 1.4 billion people. Traffic tells the bigger story: FWA already made up 28% of all mobile network data traffic in 2025, and Ericsson expects that share to rise to 36% by 2031, or 187 EB per month. A product that is a minority of connections but more than a quarter of traffic is the reason operators now plan cell capacity around home broadband, not just phones.
Counting methods vary widely. Point Topic’s Q1 2026 broadband tracker, which counts fixed broadband subscriptions in 124 countries, puts FWA at 51.3 million, about 3.22% of 1.591 billion fixed broadband subscribers. Its growth rate is the striking part: +41.07% year over year and +7.48% in a single quarter, against a 3.81% annual decline for cable. Omdia, using its own definition, forecasts 5G FWA subscriptions to rise from 71 million in 2024 to 150 million by 2030 (Mobile World Live, reporting Omdia).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global FWA connections, end of 2025 | 185 million | Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2026 |
| Global FWA connections forecast, end of 2031 | 350 million (about 85% on 5G) | Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2026 |
| People served by FWA broadband, 2031 | About 1.4 billion | Ericsson FWA outlook, June 2026 |
| FWA share of mobile network data traffic | 28% (2025), 36% forecast (2031) | Ericsson FWA outlook, June 2026 |
| FWA fixed broadband subscribers | 51.3 million (Q1 2026) | Point Topic, Q1 2026 Broadband Subscribers |
| FWA subscriber growth | +7.48% QoQ, +41.07% YoY | Point Topic, Q1 2026 |
| 5G FWA subscriptions forecast | 71 million (2024) to 150 million (2030) | Omdia, October 2025 |
| Cable broadband subscribers, global change | -3.81% YoY | Point Topic, Q1 2026 |
Context note: Ericsson’s 185 million includes all FWA connections tracked by mobile operators, while Point Topic counts fixed broadband subscriptions only and excludes many prepaid and router-based plans common in Africa and Asia. Neither figure is wrong; they measure different things. Point Topic also counts 10.2 million satellite broadband subscribers, so FWA is about five times the size of satellite on that basis (our Starlink and satellite internet statistics cover that market).
2. Operator Adoption: 5G Becomes the Default FWA Network
The supply side has flipped to 5G in a single year. The share of FWA providers offering the service over 5G jumped to 71% from 57%, the largest annual increase in four years (Ericsson press release, June 2026). Ericsson counts 175 service providers offering 5G FWA, with new launches in Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Morocco, Taiwan, Turkiye and Vietnam. Pricing is also maturing: 57% of FWA providers now sell speed-based tariffs (up from 51%), and among 5G FWA providers the share is 70%. Speed tiers mean operators are pricing FWA like fixed broadband rather than like a data bucket.
The regional split shows where FWA is a premium product and where it is still basic access. North America and Western Europe are almost entirely on 5G, while Latin America lags at 36%. GSA’s count is broader: 276 operators across 116 countries have launched 5G FWA, according to its 2026 FWA research reported by TelecomTV, and its FWA Market June 2026 report identifies 514 operators with launched FWA services (LTE or 5G) in 179 countries and territories.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Service providers offering FWA | 83% | Ericsson FWA outlook, June 2026 |
| FWA providers offering 5G FWA | 71% (57% in June 2025) | Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2026 |
| Service providers offering 5G FWA | 175 | Ericsson FWA outlook, June 2026 |
| FWA providers with speed-based tariffs | 57% (51% a year earlier) | Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2026 |
| 5G FWA share of providers: North America / Western Europe | 89% / 96% | Ericsson FWA outlook, April 2026 data |
| 5G FWA share of providers: Asia-Pacific / Latin America | 67% / 36% | Ericsson FWA outlook, April 2026 data |
| Operators with launched 5G FWA | 276 in 116 countries | GSA, 2026 (via TelecomTV) |
| Operators with launched FWA (LTE or 5G) | 514 in 179 countries and territories | GSA, FWA Market June 2026 |
Context note: Ericsson’s provider percentages come from its own survey of retail FWA offers, while GSA counts operators. The two cannot be added or divided against each other.
3. US Carriers: Who Owns American Fixed Wireless
The US is the most mature FWA market, and three carriers own almost all of it. Ookla estimates that Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T together crossed 17 million FWA connections in Q1 2026, about 13.74% of 123.75 million US home broadband subscriptions (Ookla, U.S. FWA rural and urban 1H 2026, summarized by IEEE ComSoc Techblog). Ericsson’s June 2026 report adds that US operators collectively added almost 1 million FWA connections in Q1 2026 alone.
T-Mobile is the largest. It ended 2025 with 8.45 million 5G broadband customers after 1.9 million net additions in the year, 495,000 of them in Q4 (T-Mobile Q4 2025 results), and it raised its target to 15 million 5G broadband customers by 2030, a 25% increase on its old goal of 12 million by 2028 (T-Mobile Capital Markets Day update, February 2026). Verizon reported 6.208 million FWA connections at June 30, 2026, up 21.4% year over year, but its quarterly FWA net additions slowed to 193,000 from 278,000 a year earlier as fiber took a bigger share of its broadband growth (Verizon 2Q 2026 earnings, SEC filing). AT&T is the fastest riser: its Internet Air base reached 2 million in July 2026, with the second million taking about half the time of the first (AT&T announcement via StockTitan).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US big-three FWA connections | 17 million+ (Q1 2026) | Ookla, 1H 2026 FWA report |
| FWA share of US home broadband subscriptions | 13.74% of 123.75 million | Ookla, 1H 2026 FWA report |
| T-Mobile 5G broadband customers | 8.45 million (end of 2025) | T-Mobile Q4 2025 results |
| T-Mobile 5G broadband net additions | 1.9 million (2025), 495,000 (Q4 2025) | T-Mobile Q4 2025 results |
| T-Mobile 5G broadband target | 15 million by 2030 | T-Mobile, February 2026 |
| Verizon FWA connections | 6.208 million (June 30, 2026), 5.112 million a year earlier | Verizon 2Q 2026 earnings |
| Verizon FWA net additions | 193,000 (Q2 2026) vs 278,000 (Q2 2025) | Verizon 2Q 2026 earnings |
| AT&T Internet Air subscribers | 2 million (July 2026) | AT&T, July 2026 |
Context note: T-Mobile stopped breaking out 5G broadband customer counts in 2026 and now reports postpaid accounts. Its Q1 2026 broadband net additions were described as more than 500,000 across FWA and fiber (Broadband Breakfast), and on its Q2 2026 call management put total broadband “in the upper 400,000 range”. Verizon’s own target, set in October 2024, is 8 to 9 million FWA subscribers by 2028 (Broadband Breakfast).
4. FWA vs Cable and Fiber: Where the Net Adds Come From
The broadband growth pie is being split between wireless and fiber, and cable is on the losing side of both. In Q2 2026, Verizon (193,000) and AT&T (279,000) alone added 472,000 FWA customers, while Comcast (-167,000) and Charter (-172,000) lost a combined 339,000 broadband customers. Charter’s Q2 2026 loss was larger than its 116,000 decline a year earlier (Charter 2Q 2026 results), and its management pointed to fixed wireless, fiber overbuilders and mobile substitution. Comcast improved slightly, losing 167,000 versus 201,000 a year earlier (Comcast 2Q 2026 results).
Inside the carriers, FWA now competes with their own fiber. FWA was 55% of Verizon’s 348,000 broadband net additions in Q2 2026 (193,000 of 348,000), and 43% of AT&T’s 646,000 (279,000 of 646,000, with fiber adding 367,000) (AT&T 2Q 2026 results). The FCC’s official count lags the market: its Internet Access Services report as of June 30, 2025 recorded about 11.5 million fixed wireless connections, 8.5% of 135 million fixed connections. Our fiber broadband statistics track the other side of that race.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Verizon total broadband net additions | 348,000 (Q2 2026), +12.3% YoY | Verizon 2Q 2026 earnings |
| Verizon fiber connections | 10.913 million (June 30, 2026) | Verizon 2Q 2026 earnings |
| AT&T fiber / fixed wireless net additions | 367,000 / 279,000 (Q2 2026) | AT&T 2Q 2026 earnings |
| Comcast domestic broadband net change | -167,000 (Q2 2026) vs -201,000 (Q2 2025) | Comcast 2Q 2026 earnings |
| Charter Internet customer net change | -172,000 (Q2 2026) vs -116,000 (Q2 2025) | Charter 2Q 2026 results |
| Charter Internet customers | 29.4 million (June 30, 2026) | Charter 2Q 2026 results |
| FCC fixed wireless connections | About 11.5 million, 8.5% of 135 million (June 2025) | FCC, Internet Access Services, June 30, 2025 |
| AT&T households with advanced internet that also take AT&T wireless | 42.5% | AT&T 2Q 2026 earnings |
Context note: The FCC figure covers all fixed wireless (including small wireless ISPs) and dates from June 2025, while Ookla’s 17 million covers only the big three as of Q1 2026. The difference in share (8.5% vs 13.74%) mostly reflects that nine-month gap and different denominators. Satisfaction data backs the switching story: in the ACSI Telecommunications Study 2026, Verizon 5G Home Internet (79) and T-Mobile 5G Home Internet (78) topped all non-fiber ISPs, ahead of Starlink (76), Cox (72) and Xfinity and Spectrum (71), against a non-fiber average of 71 (ACSI press release; provider scores as reported by MakeUseOf).
5. Speeds, Latency and the Urban Shift
FWA speeds are good enough to compete with cable plans, but they vary sharply by carrier and season. Ookla measured a Q2 2026 median download of 222.7 Mbps for T-Mobile, 38.8% ahead of AT&T Internet Air (160.43 Mbps) and 76% ahead of Verizon 5G Home (126.53 Mbps). Uploads are the weak spot, between 10.06 and 18.12 Mbps, which matters for video calls, cloud backups and live streaming from home; latency medians of 46 to 69 ms are fine for browsing but noticeable in competitive gaming and real-time voice. If you run a stream or voice chat over FWA, upload is the number to watch, and our internet speed statistics compare it with wired connections.
The customer base has also moved to cities. About 70% of Q2 2026 FWA Speedtest samples came from urban users and 30% from rural ones, and rural users saw 7 to 13 ms higher latency (Ookla, 1H 2026). Capacity is the swing factor: AT&T’s median download rose nearly 60%, from 104.61 Mbps in Q3 2025 to 167.34 Mbps in Q1 2026, after it added spectrum bought from EchoStar (TV Technology, reporting Ookla). CostQuest’s analysis of FCC data shows AT&T’s FWA-served locations doubling from 1.9 million to 3.8 million between December 2024 and June 2025 (CostQuest, April 2026).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median download: T-Mobile / AT&T / Verizon | 222.7 / 160.43 / 126.53 Mbps (Q2 2026) | Ookla, 1H 2026 FWA report |
| Median upload: T-Mobile / Verizon / AT&T | 18.12 / 12.2 / 10.06 Mbps (Q2 2026) | Ookla, 1H 2026 FWA report |
| Median latency: T-Mobile / Verizon / AT&T | 46 / 53 / 69 ms (Q2 2026) | Ookla, 1H 2026 FWA report |
| Urban vs rural share of FWA test samples | About 70% / 30% (Q2 2026) | Ookla, 1H 2026 FWA report |
| Rural latency penalty | 7 to 13 ms higher than urban | Ookla, 1H 2026 FWA report |
| AT&T median download change | 104.61 Mbps (Q3 2025) to 167.34 Mbps (Q1 2026) | Ookla via TV Technology |
| AT&T FWA broadband serviceable locations | 1.9 million to 3.8 million (+98.5%), Dec 2024 to Jun 2025 | CostQuest, using FCC BDC data, April 2026 |
Context note: Ookla said all three providers slowed between Q1 and Q2 2026, which it linked partly to seasonal foliage blocking signals. Only Hawaii, New York and Washington, D.C. met the FCC’s 100/20 Mbps benchmark in at least 40% of FWA samples, so median speeds hide a long tail of slower connections.
6. India and Emerging Markets: FWA as First Fixed Broadband
India is where FWA is building the fixed broadband market from scratch. TRAI counted 13.45 million 5G FWA subscribers at the end of August 2026, and 51.90% of them (6.98 million) were rural, the reverse of the US pattern (TRAI telecom subscription reports; figures summarized by TelecomTalk). Jio held 9.42 million and Airtel 4.03 million, and the market added roughly 240,000 subscribers in August alone (13.21 million in July).
For Jio, FWA is now the main fixed broadband channel. Reliance said Jio had 27 million fixed broadband connections at March 31, 2026, with nearly 10 million added in the year and around 75% of new connections coming through JioAirFiber (RCR Wireless). Ericsson’s June 2026 report puts Jio and Airtel together at nearly 17 million FWA connections by Q1 2026 and lists Algeria, Bangladesh, Morocco and Vietnam among the year’s new FWA markets, while uptake remains limited in much of Latin America and Africa.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| India 5G FWA subscribers | 13.45 million (August 2026), 13.21 million (July 2026) | TRAI, Telecom Subscription Data, August 2026 |
| India 5G FWA subscribers, May 2026 | 12.73 million | TRAI, May 2026 |
| Urban / rural split of India 5G FWA | 6.47 million (48.10%) / 6.98 million (51.90%) | TRAI, August 2026 |
| Jio / Airtel 5G FWA subscribers | 9.42 million / 4.03 million (August 2026) | TRAI, August 2026 |
| Jio additional UBR FWA subscribers | 5.37 million | TRAI, August 2026 |
| Jio fixed broadband connections | 27 million (March 31, 2026), nearly 10 million added in FY26 | Reliance results via RCR Wireless, May 2026 |
| Share of Jio’s new fixed connections via AirFiber | Around 75% | Reliance results via RCR Wireless, May 2026 |
| Jio and Airtel FWA connections combined | Nearly 17 million (Q1 2026) | Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2026 |
Context note: TRAI reports 5G FWA and Jio’s UBR (unlicensed band radio) FWA separately; adding Jio’s 5.37 million UBR lines to the 13.45 million 5G FWA count explains most of the gap with Ericsson’s “nearly 17 million” figure. Ericsson also names the Nordics and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries as regions with the strongest 5G FWA uptake outside North America.
7. Market Size, Equipment and Spending
Market-size estimates diverge because firms count different things: service revenue, equipment or both. Mordor Intelligence sizes the FWA market at 43.47 billion US dollars in 2026, growing to 84.37 billion by 2031 at a 14.18% CAGR (Mordor Intelligence), with North America holding 33.56% of 2025 revenue and residential use 71.91%. Omdia expects 5G FWA service revenue alone to reach 46 billion dollars by 2030, and Dell’Oro Group expects FWA infrastructure and CPE spending to stay above 10 billion dollars a year through 2029 (Dell’Oro Group, January 2026).
Hardware is shifting to 5G fast. GSA’s survey of 15 CPE vendors found 20 million FWA CPE units shipped in 2025 (+16%), with 23 million forecast for 2026, and 5G devices rising from 60% to nearly 70% of shipments (TelecomTV, reporting GSA). Costs are going the other way: about two-thirds of vendors reported price increases of 10% or more, which pressures the low-price positioning that made FWA attractive.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| FWA market size | 37.30 billion USD (2025), 43.47 billion USD (2026) | Mordor Intelligence, 2026 |
| FWA market forecast | 84.37 billion USD by 2031 (14.18% CAGR) | Mordor Intelligence, 2026 |
| 5G FWA service revenue forecast | 46 billion USD by 2030 | Omdia, October 2025 |
| FWA infrastructure and CPE spending | Above 10 billion USD a year through 2029 | Dell’Oro Group, January 2026 |
| FWA CPE shipments | 20 million (2025, +16%), 23 million forecast (2026) | GSA, 2026 (via TelecomTV) |
| 5G CPE units | 12 million (60% of 2025), 16 million forecast (2026) | GSA, 2026 (via TelecomTV) |
| 5G RedCap FWA CPE | 200,000 (2025) to 800,000 forecast (2026) | GSA, 2026 (via TelecomTV) |
| CPE shipments by region, 2025 | North America 28%, Africa 21%, India 9% | GSA, 2026 (via TelecomTV) |
Context note: Mordor’s figure blends hardware (64.68% of 2025 revenue) and services, so it is not directly comparable with Omdia’s service-only forecast. GSA also counts 366 5G FWA CPE models on the market.
Summary: 5G Fixed Wireless Access by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global FWA connections | 185 million (end of 2025) | Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2026 |
| Global FWA forecast, 2031 | 350 million, about 85% on 5G | Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2026 |
| FWA share of mobile data traffic | 28% (2025), 36% (2031) | Ericsson, June 2026 |
| FWA providers offering 5G | 71% (from 57%) | Ericsson, June 2026 |
| FWA fixed broadband subscribers | 51.3 million, +41.07% YoY | Point Topic, Q1 2026 |
| 5G FWA subscriptions forecast | 150 million by 2030 | Omdia, 2025 |
| Operators with launched 5G FWA | 276 in 116 countries | GSA, 2026 |
| US big-three FWA connections | 17 million+ (13.74% of home broadband) | Ookla, 1H 2026 |
| T-Mobile 5G broadband customers | 8.45 million (end of 2025) | T-Mobile Q4 2025 results |
| T-Mobile 2030 target | 15 million | T-Mobile, February 2026 |
| Verizon FWA connections | 6.208 million (June 2026) | Verizon 2Q 2026 earnings |
| AT&T Internet Air subscribers | 2 million (July 2026) | AT&T, July 2026 |
| Comcast / Charter broadband net change | -167,000 / -172,000 (Q2 2026) | Company 2Q 2026 filings |
| FCC fixed wireless connections | About 11.5 million (June 2025) | FCC, Internet Access Services |
| T-Mobile Q2 2026 median download | 222.7 Mbps | Ookla, 1H 2026 |
| Urban share of US FWA test samples | About 70% | Ookla, 1H 2026 |
| India 5G FWA subscribers | 13.45 million, 51.90% rural | TRAI, August 2026 |
| Verizon 5G Home / T-Mobile 5G Home ACSI score | 79 / 78 (non-fiber average 71) | ACSI Telecommunications Study 2026 |
| FWA market size | 43.47 billion USD (2026) | Mordor Intelligence, 2026 |
| FWA CPE shipments | 23 million forecast (2026) | GSA, 2026 |
Methodology and Sources
Every figure above was traced to the organization that produced it. Several primary pages (Ookla, GSA, ACSI, Omdia, Dell’Oro, the FCC report page and T-Mobile’s newsroom) blocked automated access during research; for those we read the figures through the named intermediaries below and still credit the original source. Leichtman Research Group, long the standard public tally of US FWA net adds, stopped publishing public topline reports after March 2024, so its figures are not used here.
- Ericsson Mobility Report: FWA outlook and June 2026 press release
- Point Topic: Q1 2026 broadband subscribers
- Omdia 5G FWA forecast, as reported by Mobile World Live and Telecompaper
- GSA: FWA Market June 2026; CPE survey as reported by TelecomTV
- Ookla: U.S. FWA rural and urban, 1H 2026, via IEEE ComSoc Techblog and TV Technology
- Carrier SEC filings: Verizon 2Q 2026, AT&T 2Q 2026, T-Mobile Q4 2025, T-Mobile Capital Markets Day update, February 2026, Comcast 2Q 2026, Charter 2Q 2026
- Carrier announcements and coverage: AT&T Internet Air 2 million (StockTitan), T-Mobile Q1 2026 broadband (Broadband Breakfast), Verizon 2028 FWA target (Broadband Breakfast), Jio FY26 results (RCR Wireless)
- Regulators: FCC Internet Access Services, status as of June 30, 2025; TRAI telecom subscription reports, August 2026 data via TelecomTalk
- CostQuest Broadband in America: FWA market focus (April 2026), based on FCC Broadband Data Collection versions 6 and 7
- ACSI: Telecommunications, Cell Phone, and Smartwatch Study 2026, provider scores via MakeUseOf
- Market sizing: Mordor Intelligence FWA market; Dell’Oro Group FWA spending forecast (January 2026)
- Data watch: Global FWA totals conflict by definition: Ericsson’s 185 million connections, Point Topic’s 51.3 million fixed broadband subscriptions and Omdia’s 5G-only forecast (150 million by 2030) should not be compared directly. The US share of home broadband is 13.74% in Ookla’s Q1 2026 estimate but 8.5% in the FCC’s June 2025 count, which is older and uses a different denominator. T-Mobile no longer discloses 5G broadband customer totals, so its latest audited count is 8.45 million at the end of 2025; Verizon’s 8 to 9 million target dates from October 2024. India’s FWA total differs between TRAI (13.45 million 5G FWA plus 5.37 million Jio UBR FWA) and Ericsson (nearly 17 million for Jio and Airtel). Market-size estimates (Mordor, Omdia, Dell’Oro) measure different scopes. The FCC fixed wireless count was read from search summaries of the report because the PDF could not be parsed; the Omdia revenue and CAGR figures were read through trade-press summaries. ACSI score for T-Mobile appeared as 79 in one secondary summary and 78 in the published table; we use 78.
Last updated: October 3, 2026. We update this roundup quarterly, and the next refresh is expected when Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile report Q3 2026 results in late October and Ericsson publishes its November 2026 Mobility Report.