AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon provide an alternative to digital subscriber line (DSL), cable, and fiber internet in the form of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). The tech utilizes a nearby 5G network to offer stationary internet connections to homes and offices. Connectivity intelligence firm Ookla's latest report details how the services from the three stack up against each other and whether the addition of more FWA customers negatively impacts mobile customers.
T-Mobile's FWA comes out on top when it comes to performance. Median download speeds offered by the company increased more than 50 percent from 134.99 Mbps in Q4 2023 to 205.44 Mbps in Q4 2024.
Cumulatively, the speeds have increased 3x since the launch of T-Mobile's FWA service in 2021. T-Mobile now boasts 6.43 million FWA subscribers. The increase in median download speeds despite the addition of more subscribers has dispelled concerns that the growth in subscribers would impact speeds.
Upload speeds, which impact activities like online meetings and file sharing, increased 9 percent from 19.88 Mbps in Q4 2023 to 21.68 Mbps in Q4 2024. Latency or lag, which affects real-time apps such as online gaming and meetings, also declined on T-Mobile's network from 61 milliseconds (ms) in Q3 2023 to 52 ms in Q4 2024.
It was feared that since the same 5G spectrum was used for providing service to both mobile and FWA subscribers, an increase in FWA customers would adversely affect the experience of both sets of customers.
The company's CEO Mike Sievert, who a recent report suggests might be let go, provided reassurance regarding network performance during the Q4 2024 earnings call. He said that the company's system identifies congested towers and it uses an algorithm to offer the service in only areas with excess capacity. This is the reason why T-Mobile Home Internet has such a long waitlist.
T-Mobile also offers the fastest upload speeds. | Image Credit - Ookla
Verizon has over 4.3 million FWA customers and it also began providing the service in 2021. It saw its median speeds increase more than 12 percent from 132.55 Mbps in Q4 2023 to 150.47 Mbps in Q4 2024. The company's median upload speeds increased 7 percent from 12.84 Mbps in Q4 2023 to 13.88 in Q4 2024. Latency increased a bit from 52 ms in Q4 2023 to 53 ms in Q4 2024.
Verizon manages network capacity by capping download speeds at 300 Mbps. While T-Mobile says that it limits speeds for customers who use more than 1.2 TB of data per month during times of congestion, it doesn't seem to be capping speeds for the time being.
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T-Mobile and Verizon customers should expect the same level of latency. | Image Credit - Ookla
AT&T, which is a relatively new entrant, now provides median download speeds of 145.30 Mbps, up 12 percent from 126.41 Mbps a year ago. Median upload speeds somehow dropped 18 percent from 16.62 Mbps in Q4 2023 to 13.57 Mbps in Q4 2024. Latency on the network decreased slightly from 74 ms in Q4 2023 to 73 ms in Q4 2024.
T-Mobile hopes to have 12 million FWA customers by 2028, while Verizon is looking to add up to 9 million subscribers. The three largest carriers have 11.5 million FWA subscribers combined and the tech has emerged as a threat for cable operators.
AT&T, which started providing FWA service only in 2023, had 650,000 customers as of Q4 2024 but its main focus is fiber. That might be a missed opportunity, considering FWA is becoming an increasingly popular choice for consumers due to affordability and ease of installation.
The service is not without its flaws, with Ookla's analysis showing that in the afternoon and evening when the network is the busiest, some customers may experience unsatisfactory speeds.
According to our data, T-Mobile Speedtest users in the 10th percentile saw their speeds dip to 13.50 Mbps at 8 p.m. while Verizon Speedtest users saw their speeds dip to 15.81 Mbps at that time and AT&T users saw their speeds drop to 15.99 Mbps.
Ookla, March 2025
For the vast majority of customers though, especially those who don't require blazing fast speeds, FWA has proven to be a reliable tech.
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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.
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