Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) continues to gain ground worldwide, supported by broader 5G rollouts and rising demand for high-speed home broadband, Ericsson Mobility Report (November 2025) said.
The global number of FWA connections is forecast to grow from 185 million at the end of 2025 to 350 million by 2031. About 90 percent of these connections will run on 5G, highlighting the technology’s role as a mainstream broadband alternative. This growth will serve an estimated 1.4 billion people by 2031, based on a global average household size of four.
Markets where 5G FWA adoption is expanding rapidly – including the US and India – show maturity in both 5G deployment and FWA monetization. These markets benefit from wide 5G mid-band coverage, early adoption of 5G Standalone, and strong availability of tiered, speed-based FWA plans. In contrast, regions such as Latin America, Africa and parts of South East Asia show slower growth due to gaps in 5G deployment and limited FWA monetization models. Still, these regions have strong long-term demand for affordable, reliable broadband services.
Asia-Pacific is set to become the global powerhouse for FWA. Its share of worldwide FWA connections will rise from just over 40 percent in 2025 to 50 percent by 2031, driven by populous countries and expanding 5G ecosystems. This scale will help make customer premises equipment more affordable, further supporting growth.
FWA is also becoming a major contributor to global mobile data traffic. By the end of 2025, FWA will account for 27 percent of all mobile data traffic. This is projected to more than triple to around 174 exabytes per month by 2031, representing 36 percent of total mobile traffic.
The FWA ecosystem is strengthening as more service providers adopt 5G FWA and introduce speed-based broadband plans. About 81 percent of service providers globally now offer FWA, and 159 of them use 5G to deliver it. Speed-based tariff plans, widely used in fiber and cable broadband, are becoming more common for FWA. They are now offered by 54 percent of FWA service providers, up from 43 percent a year ago. Among providers offering 5G FWA, the share rises to 70 percent.
Regional variations remain strong. Most regions have at least 75 percent of operators offering FWA, but Western Europe has led the shift toward speed-based plans. Latin America has significant room to expand both 5G FWA and monetization models.
India continues to stand out as a high-growth FWA market. Jio became the world’s largest FWA provider in Q2 2025, with 9.5 million connections in Q3. Together, Jio and Airtel serve 12 million FWA users in India as of September 2025. Strong demand and extensive 5G rollouts position India as a major driver of global FWA expansion.
Other global markets are also accelerating. The three largest US service providers added a record 1.04 million FWA connections in Q3 2025, reaching a combined 14.6 million users. In the Philippines, Smart recorded a 12 percent year-on-year increase in 5G FWA connections, with FWA revenues rising 22 percent year-on-year.
FWA technology advancements are further supporting growth. A recent CPE vendor survey covering 17 suppliers indicates that 35 million CPE units will ship in 2025, up 26 percent year-on-year, with 57 percent being 5G-capable.
Monetization strategies are also evolving. Cosmote in Greece has introduced differentiated 5G FWA connectivity, helping lift its overall fixed broadband performance. In the US, FWA is becoming a major driver of 5G Standalone traffic. Telstra has launched an enterprise-focused “Dynamic 5G” FWA solution, offering guaranteed performance through differentiated connectivity.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
