Fixed Wireless Access outlook

Continued global FWA momentum

FWA is continuing to grow solidly in terms of the:

• Adoption: Proportion of service providers offering FWA over 5G
• Monetization: Share of service providers with speed-based tariff plans
• Scale: Number of connections and the traffic volume per connection

An updated study^[1] of retail packages offered by service providers reveals that 83 percent have an FWA offering. There are 175 service providers offering FWA services over 5G, representing 71 percent of all FWA service providers.

Globally, the share of service providers offering FWA over 5G has grown 14 percentage points in the past year, the highest annual increase in adoption in four years. This momentum is reflected in new 5G FWA launches across diverse markets, including Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Morocco, Taiwan, Türkiye and Vietnam.

Speed-based FWA tariff plans continue to grow

Speed-based tariff plans are commonly offered for fixed broadband services, such as those delivered over fiber or cable. Consumers understand this type of tariff well, enabling service providers to monetize FWA as a broadband alternative. Speed-based tariff plans are now offered by 57 percent of FWA service providers, up from 51 percent a year ago. The remaining 43 percent offer only volume-based tariff plans (buckets of GB per month). Among those offering 5G FWA services, 70 percent offer speed-based tariff plans.

Regional variations

There are regional variations in how service providers adopt FWA:

• FWA adoption is widespread globally. In six out of seven regions, 81 percent or more of service providers offer FWA.
• In the past year, there has been continuous growth in the number of service providers offering speed-based plans, driven primarily by Western Europe.
• Latin America remains the region with the most untapped potential for FWA.

350 million FWA connections in 2031

Global FWA connections are expected to grow from 185 million at the end of 2025 to 350 million by the end of 2031, representing 17 percent of all fixed broadband connections. Of these 350 million connections, close to 85 percent are expected to be over 5G. 4G FWA connections are predicted to peak in 2026. Considering a global average household size of about four people, 350 million FWA connections equates to approximately 1.4 billion individuals being served by FWA broadband by the end of 2031.

FWA impact on global mobile network data traffic

At the end of 2025, FWA accounted for 28 percent of global mobile network data traffic and is projected to grow by more than 3 times to around 187 EB per month by the end of 2031, representing 36 percent of total mobile network data traffic.

FWA connection advancements

• T-Mobile US closed 2025 with 8.5 million FWA connections, subsequently raising its long-term target to 15 million by 2030.
• AT&T US reported 292,000 FWA net additions in Q1 2026, highlighting strong momentum in its 5G-based offering towards the consumer and business segments.
• In Q1 2026, the three largest US service providers added almost 1 million FWA net add connections, and they have captured the majority of the broadband growth for the past 16 consecutive quarters. As a result, their combined FWA user base stands at over 17 million connections.
• There is robust demand for FWA in India, with the combined number of connections from Jio and Airtel reaching almost 17 million at the end of Q1 2026.

Progress in differentiated connectivity^[2]

• COSMOTE TELEKOM in Greece launched 5G FWA with differentiated connectivity, fueling nearly threefold growth in FWA connections, surpassing 100,000 as of Q1 2026.
• Telia Company has launched FWA offerings based on differentiated connectivity in Estonia and Lithuania, targeting premium connectivity needs.
• In December, Verizon launched a new FWA solution for businesses, delivering superior uplink capacity and SLA-backed performance through 5G standalone and differentiated connectivity.

Fastest-growing FWA markets are highly mature

In an Ericsson global benchmarking study^[3] assessing 5G FWA maturity, two key dimensions were evaluated:

• 5G deployment maturity: Characterized by 5G mid-band population coverage, which delivers the step-change performance needed for a fiber-like FWA experience.
• FWA monetization maturity: Refers to the maturity of FWA offerings based on adoption of 5G FWA and speed-based tariff plans.

Markets with strong FWA growth consistently excel across both dimensions, while slower-growth regions typically show limited progress in 5G deployment and monetization maturity.

5G FWA uptake is strong in North America, the Nordics, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and parts of Asia, spanning markets with over 95 percent fiber-connected homes to low-ARPU markets like India. By contrast, growth in Latin America, Africa and parts of South East Asia remains limited, despite significant underlying demand and long-term potential.