Carriers face 'yawning mismatch' between FWA revenues and data usage

Fixed wireless access is still having its moment in the sun and applying heat to cable broadband competition. Though Verizon saw its rate of new FWA subscribers decline in the third quarter of 2025, FWA subscriber rates were on the upswing at both AT&T and T-Mobile during the period. Meanwhile, AT&T is in position to become even more aggressive with Internet Air—now its flagship FWA product—after putting some midband spectrum from EchoStar into action. AT&T recently said that spectrum—in the 3.45GHz band—is already goosing 5G capacity for mobile and FWA customers even before regulators stamp the proposed deal. While the use of "fallow" wireless capacity for FWA services seems to be a non-issue at the moment, some fresh analysis from MoffettNathanson raises questions about FWA's potential for the longer term as average broadband usage continues to climb even before AI-powered services start to leave a real mark.