Though many discount fixed wireless as a long-term home broadband strategy, there is growing evidence that, in the near term, it is having a significant impact in the U.S. home broadband market.
T-Mobile and Verizon alone added 816,00 net home broadband accounts in the second quarter of 2022. Total net additions for the whole market were less than 671,000 for the quarter, according to Leichtman Research.
The chief argument against a long-term role is that, eventually, fixed networks will be able to grow capacity so much that fixed wireless cannot keep pace. As load begins to grow on 5G networks, mobile operators will be increasingly limited in their ability to devote spectrum to home broadband users.
Of course, future allocations of mid-band spectrum will help, if mobile operators and others can secure additional assets. Additional unlicensed 6-GHz spectrum expected to be released for use by the Federal Communications Commission provides an example of how fixed wireless assets could grow.
Public service providers prefer licensed assets, of course. But unlicensed access is one possible way to keep boosting fixed wireless access capabilities, as wireless internet service providers have done for many decades.
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