T-Mobile Releases New Study on the Acceleration of Fixed Wireless Access Across the US – CNET [CNET]

December 7, 2022 Trey Paul technology

What’s happening

T-Mobile is sharing insights into how fixed wireless access (specifically, 5G home internet) is disrupting the broadband market and effectively expanding to more customers across the country.

Why it matters

Internet service providers are perpetually among the lowest-performing industries in the US, yet internet usage continues to rise. Increased competition and more options mean better choices for consumers.

T-Mobile released a new study Wednesday that touts the progress its T-Mobile Home Internet product has made in the marketplace but also speaks to the greater impact of 5G fixed wireless (including competitor Verizon 5G Home Internet) on getting more people connected across the country.

Leaning on its proprietary data and info from OpenVault and Leichtman Research, T-Mobile notes that its home internet service has already garnered more than 2 million customers. In the last year, of the 3.28 million total US broadband net adds across the industry, 78% belong to T-Mobile and Verizon.

Pie chart showing percentage of where FWA customers previously had service — T-Mobile

It’s not shocking that customers would flock to newer options. We noted over the summer that when the American Customer Satisfaction Index released its 2022 reports on internet service providers, the industry had dropped to dead last among all US fields, with ISPs falling beneath even gas stations and social media.

Poor customer satisfaction is a big driver for T-Mobile’s aggressive courting of customers — one of its taglines is “Take a bite out of Big Internet.” But T-Mobile also asked its customers for specific reasons why they switched to 5G internet. Over 58% listed a lower price as the main driver, while 41% liked that there’s no annual contract obligation. Perhaps most interestingly, over a third of its customers said that simply having a new option available was a key driver in their decision to switch.

All this comes less than a month after Consumer Reports released a year-long broadband costs study. The conclusion there was that more competition is necessary to give US customers adequate choices and options for internet access. Now, the arrival of this T-Mobile study essentially drills the point home.

“Fixed wireless is disrupting a historically broken broadband industry, offering choice and competition at a time when consumers need it most,” Mike Katz, Chief Marketing Officer at T-Mobile, said in a statement.

T-Mobile’s report also highlights the expectation that 5G fixed wireless consumption will continue to expand, with T-Mobile and Verizon expected to garner between 11 million to 13 million customers by 2025.