Fixed wireless service quality lags wired broadband, according to Evercore

Analysts at Evercore Research, led by Vijay Jayant, conducted proprietary research covering a random sample of 10,000 residential addresses across the US to determine the availability of Verizon’s and T-Mobile’s home internet services. They found that 39 percent of total households have T-Mobile Home Internet fixed wireless access (FWA) service available, while 15 percent of households have access to Verizon’s FWA product. The addresses in Evercore’s research were proportionately sampled by state and chosen to match US population distribution among urban, suburban and rural areas. The data was gathered after Verizon switched on its C-Band coverage in January 2022. The analysts found that, overall, the service quality of FWA offered by different providers lagged that of fiber and cable broadband. “When it comes to the performance of fixed wireless service, reports indicate a very high degree of variability,” stated Evercore. The analysts found that at the high end, some customers on Verizon’s 5G mmwave service are getting download speeds at or above 1 Gbps, with upload speeds of over 100 Mbps. But at the other end of the range, AT&T’s rural-focused, LTE fixed wireless offering only commits to 10/1 Mbps service.