Fixed Wireless Makes Big Gains as BEAD Push Begins

This op-ed was originally published in Inside Sources.

Fixed wireless continues to grow as a lower-cost and effective source of broadband infrastructure, according to recent studies.

Ookla (a global network intelligence company) found that 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) connections topped 17 million in the first quarter of 2026, which represents nearly 14 percent of the 124 million home broadband subscriptions in the United States.

Ookla’s connectivity report found that FWA continues to see gains in speed and latency, both of which have long concerned critics of the technology. The three FWA-examined providers (AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon) now regularly see median download speeds well above the Federal Communications Commission’s broadband standard of 100 Megabits per second.

T-Mobile Home Internet led in median download speeds of 239.5 Mbps, but AT&T Internet Air made the greatest strides in the past six months, with an increase of 60 percent in median download speeds from 104.61 Mbps in Q3 2025 to 167.34 Mbps in Q1 2026. AT&T’s increase was bolstered by the company’s deployment of $23 billion in 50 Megahertz of low- and mid-band spectrum it received in a licensing deal with EchoStar in August 2025.

Verizon 5G Home Internet trailed its competitors with a median download speed of 143.64 Mbps in Q1 2026, according to Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence data.

The top 10 percent of tests demonstrated what Ookla called “blazing-fast speeds,” with download speeds in the upper tier often exceeding 600 Mbps for T-Mobile and 500 Mbps for AT&T during periods of lower network traffic congestion.

FWA is still working on improvements in upload speeds, which still don’t generally meet the FCC standard of 20 Mbps (but are also generally less important for most users than download speeds). T-Mobile led the pack at 18.12 Mbps, followed by AT&T at 12.55 Mbps, and Verizon at 12.2 Mbps.

Ookla noted that all three providers saw slight dips in download and upload speeds between the first and second quarters of 2026. Ookla attributed this largely to the growth of tree foliage from winter to spring that can affect wireless signals, especially around homes.

“In addition, hotter temperatures can also slow down data speeds because the increase in thermal noise within electronic components causes networks to default to slower modulation schemes in order to maintain a stable connection,” Ookla stated.

Although fixed wireless has largely been touted as a cost-effective way to connect rural areas, it has gained plenty of traction in urban markets. Ookla noted that, by using the Census Bureau’s urban-rural classifications to categorize user data, about 70 percent of its FWA test samples originated in urban areas.

Ericsson reported in its FWA outlook study that global fixed wireless connections are expected to grow to 350 million by 2031, nearly doubling from current numbers, and representing 17 percent of all fixed broadband connections. With a global average household size of four people, FWA would serve about 1.4 billion people by 2031.

FWA accounts for 28 percent of global mobile network data traffic, and that is expected to increase to 36 percent in the next five years, according to Ericsson.

The gains by fixed wireless occur as the government looks to implement the technology through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program to help connect millions of unserved and underserved Americans. In fact, 13 percent of locations served through BEAD will be connected via fixed wireless. That represents nearly 500,000 locations.

Fixed wireless should continue to grow as a viable alternative to more costly broadband deployment. Its improvements should help close the digital divide in the United States.