Skip navigation
""

Majority offer speed-based FWA

Fixed Wireless Access outlook

Available in English Português 繁體中文

FWA adoption, scale and monetization opportunities are growing solidly

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

Global FWA service provider adoption 2022–2025
Bar graph showing the percentage of studied service providers who have adopted 5G, and then within that total, the percentage who have adopted 5G FWA and speed-based FWA. 1. In April 2022, 77% had adopted FWA overall, with 32% of that total being over 5G and 21% speed based. 2. In April 2023, 79% had adopted FWA overall, with 41% of that total being over 5G and 27% speed based. 3. In April 2024, 78% had adopted FWA overall, with 53% of that total being over 5G and 40% speed based. 4. In April 2025, 80% had adopted FWA overall, with 57% of that total being over 5G and 51% speed based.

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

Regional FWA service provider adoption 2025
Bar graph showing the percentage of studied service providers in each region who have adopted 5G as of 2025, and then within that total, the percentage who have adopted 5G FWA and speed-based FWA. 1. In North America, 100% had adopted FWA overall, with 89% of that total being over 5G and 100% speed based. 2. In Western Europe, 94% had adopted FWA overall, with 84% of that total being over 5G and 72% speed based. 3. In Central and Eastern Europe, 89% had adopted FWA overall, with 51% of that total being over 5G and 47% speed based. 4. In Middle East and Africa, 84% had adopted FWA overall, with 47% of that total being over 5G and 46% speed based. 5. In Asia-Pacific, 67% had adopted FWA overall, with 64% of that total being over 5G and 36% speed based. 6. In Latin America, 53% had adopted FWA overall, with 22% of that total being over 5G and 30% speed based.

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.

Figure 11: FWA connections

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

5G FWA CPE form factor by service-provider offering
Bar graph showing that of the 151 service providers offering FWA over 5G, 44 of them offer it as “best effort” while 97 offer “speed based”. Of the best-effort offerings, 91% of these are offered as indoor-only and 9% are flexi self-install. Of the speed-based offerings, 59% are indoor-only, 30% are flexi self-install, and 11 are listed as outdoor available.

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.

80%

Of the 350 million FWA connections projected globally by the end of 2030, 80 percent are expected to be over 5G.

Next steps

Ericsson Mobility Visualizer

With our Mobility Visualizer tool, you can examine the forecast data that underpins the Ericsson Mobility Report in our interactive web application.

Discover the data

Ericsson Mobility Calculator

Explore the relationship between the usage of various app types and monthly traffic per subscription with our interactive Mobility Calculator tool.

Explore the calculator

Articles

Discover the Ericsson Mobility Report articles where we discuss trends, case studies, service provider opportunities, and the past, present and future of connectivity.

Discover the articles

Ericsson Mobility Report

Our forecasts are based on past and current data, validated with extensive network measurements. Discover the latest figures for 5G, IoT, fixed wireless access and more.

Explore now
Subscribe to receive Ericsson Mobility Report updates

Get the latest Ericsson Mobility Reports and quarterly updates – the moment they are published!

The face of mobile communications is changing faster than ever. Stay up to speed with projections and analyses of the latest trends in the mobile industry, including subscriptions, mobile data traffic and population coverage.

Subscribe now to get the full reports and quarterly updates sent directly to your inbox.

Subscribe now

Related content

Fixed Wireless Access

As millions continue to wait for reliable home broadband, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is an efficient and scalable alternative to wired connections. With smart and targeted deployments, our studies show that the investment typically pays off in less than two years. 5G accelerates this and we can help you tap into the opportunity. Find out how.

Fixed Wireless Access Handbook 2024

Dive in to 6 acitonable insights to capture the value of 5G Fixed Wireless Access in our latest FWA Handbook.

Fixed Wireless Access Webinar

Join our on-demand webinar that fouses on the latest insights and global development within FWA.

References

1
310 service providers, representing around 90 percent of global mobile revenues.
2
All FWA service provider data comes from the latest company official quarterly financial reports.