AT&T initially downplayed the scope of its Internet Air fixed wireless access (FWA) service as a decidedly niche offering meant to fill in the gaps where its priority service, fiber, couldn't reach.
It still does feel that way. But the company was quite a bit more loquacious about Internet Air on Wednesday, after reporting markedly accelerated first-quarter uptake of Internet Air, which added 110,000 customers from January to March versus 67,000 in Q4.
Nine months after its limited commercial launch, the cellular-based home internet service — deployed in 95 U.S. markets and priced at $55 per month, or $35 if bundled with an AT&T wireless bill — has more than 200,000 customers.
That’s not the more than 5 million FWA customers T-Mobile will likely tout when it reports its first-quarter numbers Thursday, but 64% quarter-to-quarter growth isn't anything to sneeze at, either.
Speaking to equity analysts Wednesday, AT&T CEO John Stankey still insists the company won't aggressively market Internet Air to the consumer market in the same way T-Mobile and Verizon promote their FWA services.
Stankey said the FWA product isn’t a good fit for “a single-family home that streams hours of video each day … I just don’t see that as long-term sustainable.”
Internet Air is a better match in the business market, Stankey explained.
"We believe [Internet Air] is a durable national play with businesses because it's able to serve as a reliable 5G-powered, primary Internet connection where fiber is not available, in remote locations, where temporary access is needed, or with small and medium businesses that don't require always-on video streaming," he said.
Stankey added that while it’s not for every business, Internet Air is useful for businesses with outposts in wireline-bereft rural environments, enabling them to enjoy 5G connectivity.
“We want to make sure we match the product with the businesses that have the right usage characteristics that we think we can provide a quality level of service,“ he said. “There are many businesses that match that.”
