Fixed Wireless Access services from T-Mobile and Verizon added 920,000 customers alone in the third quarter, a period during which the once fast-growing cable sector remained largely flat in terms of broadband expansion.
Prices for these insurgent 5G wireless services for the home markedly undercut establishment cable, with T-Mobile 5G Home Internet priced at only $50 a month. The cable industry -- which continues to jack up prices on home internet service -- has countered this revolt by telling consumers they'll get what they pay for -- wireless networks don't have the required density to delivery the kind of performance broadband users are looking for when they watch The Crown on Netflix in 4K, they say.
But FWA might just be good enough, according to a new, first-of-its-kind report from Opensignal.
The widely respected wireless research company compared the performances of T-Mobile and Verizon FWA services in 25 U.S. markets to cable and telco fiber-to-the-home high-speed internet services.
Generally, FWA did rank in Opensignal's words, "middle of the pack." In fact, in some markets like New York/New Jersey, FWA ranked well below cable and fiber in terms of basic benchmarks like download speeds.
However, at a time of abject penny-pinching for a lot of cash-strapped consumers, is it enough of a performance difference to negate the huge price break 5G FWA is offering, particularly when bundled wireless services are factored in? ■
