• Operators around the world have launched fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband services
• 5G FWA is fuelling market growth
• ABI Research expects there to be about 233 million FWA connections worldwide by 2030, driving significant operator revenues

Driven in particular by the use of 5G spectrum and supporting infrastructure, the fixed wireless access (FWA) services market is growing at a significant pace and is on course to generate annual global revenues of $111bn by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.8% for the 2023-30 period, according to ABI Research. 

That revenue growth is driven by the increasing number of FWA connections around the world as mobile operators make use of their 5G spectrum and associated infrastructure to launch 5G FWA services, something that many have already done. According to the GSMA, more than 150 operators in 76 countries had launched commercial 5G FWA services as of March 2025. Competition in the 5G FWA market is intensifying in regions such as the US, where T-Mobile US, Verizon and AT&T are all adopting a multi-service broadband strategy comprising fibre to the premises and FWA (with satellite broadband offerings via partners to come), and India, where Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are battling for 5G FWA customers in a massive market that has little in the way of traditional fixed access line infrastructure.

The global subscriber base for FWA is expected to grow significantly over the next five years to reach almost 233 million by 2030, with 5G FWA set to account for 81% (about 189 million) of that 2030 total, according to the ABI Research team’s forecast.   

The research firm didn’t provide a number for the current global FWA subscriber base, but according to Ericsson there were about 160 million FWA connections globally at the end of 2024 (though it should also be noted that Ericsson predicts the global total will reach 350 million by 2030, much higher than ABI’s forecast).  

“Ongoing technology advancements within 5G customer premises equipment (CPE) will continue to play a critical role in driving growth in FWA subscriber bases and service revenue,” noted Larbi Belkhit, industry analyst at ABI Research. “Furthermore, as 5G networks evolve, more operators will begin shifting toward service monetisation business models over simple best-effort speed monetisation,” he added.

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV