https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/answer/5G-fixed-wireless-access-market-grows-in-the-US
Fixed wireless access, or FWA, is still relatively new and in the early stages of its growth. However, as growth opportunities in more traditional wireless technologies slow down due to the ubiquity of mobile devices, service providers are turning to new areas, such as FWA, that still have significant upside.
Essentially, FWA is the technology that enables wireless carriers to enter into the broadband business and compete with wireline broadband from cable television and telephone companies.
"FWA is expanding the competitive playing field for home and business users. This threatens longstanding and traditional wireline services [but] also potentially expands the entire sector," said Jeff Kagan, an Atlanta-based wireless analyst.
In general terms, 5G FWA is a wireless network infrastructure that is based on the latest cellular technology, 5G, and installed in a fixed location, such as a business or home. The idea is that the FWA device stays in the same location and connects to the same set of towers or antennas during its entire lifecycle. This is in contrast to roaming, where the device moves around, according to Beth Cohen, an advanced networking and security product strategist at Verizon.
Cohen said 5G FWA offers several benefits, including the following:
The growth potential in the 5G FWA market is impressive, especially as the technology continues to improve. Potential improvements include the ability to harness higher radio frequencies, deploy radio repeaters and develop new technologies, said Peter Rysavy, president of Rysavy Research.
The success of FWA could boil down to the quality, connectivity, reliability, speed and latency of FWA services.
The initial rollout a couple of years ago went well, with many signups on the consumer and commercial sides, according to Cohen. However, service uptake has slowed down a bit since then, and the loss of federal funding for rural buildouts will slow it further.
"The bait-and-switch of providing LTE instead of 5G in some areas, and difficulties related to signal strength and antenna locations -- all issues that can be overcome in time -- set back the more rapid and widespread deployments," Cohen said.
An October report from Omdia, an Informa TechTarget company, predicted that global FWA subscriptions will more than double by 2030. The report highlighted strong momentum across markets led by India and the U.S. and identified FWA as the fastest-growing broadband access technology.
Telecom provider Ericsson estimated FWA lines will grow from 160 million at the end of 2024 to 350 million by 2030, with 80% of this growth attributed to 5G, said Roy Chua, founder and principal at AvidThink, a research and advisory firm. He said most operators in four of six regions now offer FWA, and there is a growing shift toward speed-tiered pricing.
Chua added that the financial disclosures of telecom operators in the U.S. still show strong FWA momentum. T-Mobile maintained its position as the leader in the FWA market with over 7.3 million customers. In Q2 2025 alone, the carrier added 454,000 FWA lines.
"Within the U.S. market, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless have been the most aggressive from the mobile operator side, while AT&T is focused on fiber first and then FWA," said Earl Lum, president of EJL Wireless Research. "I think things are slowing down now as capacity for FWA is dwindling for T-Mobile, since they are using C-Band [midband] spectrum and not mmWave like Verizon Wireless," Lum said.
Meanwhile, Verizon reached 5.1 million FWA subscribers in Q2 2025 by adding 275,000 new lines. AT&T surpassed 1 million subscribers in Q2 2025, with 203,000 net additions in the quarter.
Every mobile network operator has a different approach to 5G FWA, Rysavy said. For example, T-Mobile has focused on midband spectrum, while Verizon works on mmWave. Over time, each method of providing FWA will garner millions of users, he said.
Enterprises and consumers can both benefit from FWA; however, currently, most interest in FWA deployment focuses on how it can provide connectivity to individual users. A strong FWA connection can enable individuals to connect to enterprise networks, especially in remote areas with limited connectivity options.
Cohen said one of the best use cases is FWA installations that serve as low-cost and effective backups to wireline connections for retail and other companies with large numbers of small locations spread over long distances. "It is a very attractive option for construction sites," she said.
Other significant use cases include the following:
To decide whether to go the 5G FWA route, organizations should consider it from several perspectives, Cohen said.
"For businesses, it really is apples and oranges. If the business has access to fiber, while it might be more expensive -- although they are usually comparable -- fiber is the better technology in terms of throughput and reliability until we have a good solution for network slicing to better control capacity," she said.
Deployment time might be a concern to a business in the short term, but generally once fiber is in, it just works, she said.
"Wireless is a bit fussier to deploy because you need to find the location on the site with optimal signal strength to figure out the best location for the connectivity equipment," Cohen said. "For kiosks, construction sites, pop-ups and other temporary installations, FWA is perfect."
From the telecom provider perspective, FWA infrastructure is still cheaper to install than fiber, particularly in less densely populated areas, she said. Telecoms must also ensure there is sufficient capacity to support the number of subscribers. That has been a problem for carriers with less disciplined practices around how to best share the network between mobile and FWA traffic.
Chua explained the pros and cons of each option in a head-to-head comparison:
Despite its growing popularity, 5G FWA brings challenges, such as fundamental design and coverage constraints.
"I think the most significant challenge is that the wireless networks were designed for fixed locations and relatively steady traffic volumes using a hub and spoke model for service delivery," Cohen explained. "Mobile networks are designed for far more devices, but those devices move around and are far more spread out, and each device creates less traffic."
For now, coverage typically follows the same locations as mobile coverage maps and uses the same towers. Telecom providers might need to rethink that approach if they're serious about expanding their FWA footprints. They need to treat it almost as a separate and distinct use case with its own traffic patterns, she said.
Spectrum limitations, particularly for midband spectrum, are the greatest constraints for FWA, which limits the number of customers an operator can support, Rysavy said. Operators can densify their networks with more cell sites and small cells, but doing so is expensive, and the permitting process can be time-consuming.
Ultimately, while FWA offers benefits in cost and flexibility, it is still a young technology, and some users will have a better experience than others, according to Kagan, but everything will improve going forward.
Cohen said she expects FWA to grow in the next two to five years, as consumers and businesses recognize its value. This is especially the case as providers expand services to rural areas that are ill-served by pretty much anything else, and enterprise customers see the value in the flexibility FWA delivers.
"While it needs some more infrastructure on the ground as compared to satellite communications, it has the potential for far more bandwidth capacity and far less cost for those hard to get to areas in the world," Cohen said.
FWA technology and performance will also continue to improve as operators gain access to more spectrum, smart antennas become more sophisticated, and AI dynamically manages radio resources for optimum efficiency, Rysavy explained. Operators will be able to offer more customers ever greater performance.
At this stage, 5G FWA and private wireless appear to have a strong growth window ahead, but things can change in wireless, and they always do, Kagan said.
"It looks like, at least for the next several years, these sectors will remain on the growth track," he said. "That does not mean growth will be smooth and flawless."
David Weldon is a business and technology writer in the Boston area who covers topics related to data management, information security, healthcare technology, educational technology and workforce management.
07 Jan 2026