Key findings
The proportion of Fixed Wireless access (FWA) service providers offering speed-based tariff plans has increased to 51 percent, up from 40 percent a year ago.
In four out of six regions, at least 84 percent of all service providers are offering some form of FWA.
Of the 350 million FWA connections projected globally by the end of 2030, 80 percent are expected to be over 5G.
FWA is continuing to grow solidly in terms of the:
- Adoption: proportion of service providers offering it over 5G
- Monetization: share of service providers with speed-based tariff plans
- Scale: number of connections and the traffic volume per connection
Continued global FWA momentum
An updated Ericsson study[1] of retail tariff plans offered by mobile service providers reveals that 80 percent have an FWA offering. There are 141 service providers offering FWA services over 5G, representing 57 percent of all FWA service providers.
Figure 9: Global FWA service provider adoption 2022–2025
Majority of FWA service providers offer speed-based plans
Speed-based tariff plans are commonly offered for fixed broadband services, such as those delivered over fiber or cable. Consumers understand this type of plan well, which enables service providers to monetize FWA as a broadband alternative. Speed-based tariff plans are now offered by 51 percent of FWA service providers, up from 40 percent a year ago. This increase highlights how providers can capitalize on consumer preferences for fast and reliable services to drive growth. The remaining 49 percent offer volume-based tariff plans (buckets of GB per month).
When considering only the service providers that offer 5G FWA services, an even higher number offer speed-based tariff plans, at 70 percent compared to 51 percent.
Figure 10: Regional FWA service provider adoption 2025
Large regional variations
There are large regional variations in the proportion of service providers adopting FWA:
- FWA adoption is widespread globally. In 4 out of 6 regions, 84 percent or more service providers are offering FWA.
- In the past year, there has been substantial growth in speed-based offerings, driven primarily by three regions: Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and Africa.
- Latin America and parts of South East Asia have the potential to increase the adoption of service providers that offer speed-based services and FWA over 5G.
- Currently, all service providers in the Gulf Cooperation Council region offer 5G FWA services.
Global market update[2]
- Reliance Jio reported an eightfold increase in 5G FWA connections from March 2024 to March 2025, reaching a total of 5.6 million connections, targeting 100 million connected homes in India.
- As yet another example of utilizing 5G standalone (SA), network slicing and partitioning to drive mobile data monetization, Cosmote, Greece, has launched 5G FWA based on differentiated connectivity.
- The Q1 2025 reports from major US broadband providers – AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Comcast, Charter Communications and Altice – mark the 11th consecutive quarter in which FWA has accounted for nearly all broadband net additions in the US, highlighting its growing role in the nation’s connectivity landscape. During this quarter, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile collectively added 913,000 new connections, bringing the total number of 5G FWA connections to 12.5 million.
- In the US, DSL replacement is accelerating due to initiatives by the new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman that facilitate the decommissioning of legacy networks, paving the way for the expansion of FWA and fiber connections.
CPE choices support a speed-based strategy
The aforementioned Ericsson study, which examines 141 global mobile service providers offering 5G FWA services, provides insights into the types of customer premises equipment (CPE) they offer. Among the 44 service providers with a best-effort offering, 91 percent only offer indoor CPE units, while 9 percent provide outdoor or flexi self-install CPE options (that can be placed indoors or outdoors). By contrast, for the 97 service providers with speed-based offerings, the percentage of indoor-only CPE drops to 59 percent, with a significantly higher portion, at 41 percent, offering outdoor or self-install options.
Figure 12: 5G FWA CPE form factor by service-provider offering
350 million FWA connections in 2030
Global FWA connections are expected to grow from 160 million at the end of 2024 to 350 million by the end of 2030. This would represent 18 percent of all fixed broadband connections. Of the 350 million projected connections, more than 80 percent are expected to be over 5G. 4G FWA connections are predicted to peak in 2026.
Half of global FWA connections in Asia-Pacific in 2030
Higher volumes of 5G FWA in populous, high-growth countries can drive economies of scale for the overall 5G FWA ecosystem, resulting in even more affordable CPE. Asia-Pacific’s share of global FWA connections is expected to increase from 40 percent in 2024 to 51 percent in 2030.
FWA impact on global mobile network data traffic
As a result of the change in regional mix, with a higher share of FWA connections in APAC, as well as lower consumption of GB per connection, the predicted FWA traffic up to 2030 has been slightly reduced. Nevertheless, at the end of 2024, FWA data traffic represented 25 percent of global mobile data traffic and is projected to grow by a factor of close to 4 to reach around 151 EB per month by the end of 2030. This will represent 35 percent of the total mobile network data traffic.
Of the 350 million FWA connections projected globally by the end of 2030, 80 percent are expected to be over 5G.
