Fixed wireless continues to climb US broadband charts

Parks Associates Research Director Kristen Hanich said FWA and satellite internet are the "fastest growing" segments in broadband.

According to Parks Associates’ newly launched Broadband Market Tracker, FWA adoption through a mobile network operator hit 7.8 million U.S. residential home internet connections in Q1. For context, the firm reported 106.3 million U.S. households had home internet service at the end of 2023.

Kristen Hanich, director of research at Parks Associates, told Fierce Network FWA and satellite internet are the “fastest growing” segments of the broadband market, “attracting consumers who were previously unserved or underserved by traditional providers.”

She noted for the past several years, the FWA base has grown by 700,000 to 900,000 subscribers per quarter while cable connections have declined.

As for fiber, Hanich said the technology is also on an upswing and Parks is seeing “excellent growth in the markets where it is available and high customer satisfaction with the customers who have it.”

“But the numbers are not quite as dramatic as what’s been going on with T-Mobile, Verizon and Starlink,” she said, noting the “growing convergence” of satellite and mobile networks is something else to keep an eye on.

Parks found adoption of mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services reached over 15 million residential customer mobile lines in the quarter. In an MVNO model, broadband operators lease spectrum capacity from a wireless network to stand up their own mobile offering.

MVNO plans typically are cheaper than postpaid mobile plans from a major wireless carrier, she explained. For instance, Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile unlimited data plan is “about $15 per month less expensive than T-Mobile, and $20 cheaper than AT&T.”

“It’s also convenient for a customer to sign up for internet and mobile in one place, manage payments in one place, etc.,” she said.

Asked whether the demise of the Affordable Connectivity Program has had any impact on Parks’ findings, Hanich said, “we are concerned that the end of the program will result in households and families needing to disconnect from the internet for financial reasons.”

“For a good percentage of Americans, household budgets have been hit by rising inflation and lower-income families especially are having to cut back,” she said. “Thankfully we are seeing ISPs step up, try and transition people onto other plans and initiatives.”

From the article, "Fixed wireless continues to climb US broadband charts - Parks" by Masha Abarinova

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