Fixed wireless access (FWA) is growing quickly among American consumers and satisfaction with the technology continues to be higher than that of fiberoptic and cable services, according to new data from J.D. Power.
FWA is a method of 5G or 4G LTE wireless technology for use as high-speed home broadband using existing wireless networks from mobile network operators (MNOs).
After the nascent stage of technology from early adopters, it appears as though adoption of FWA has grown by 47% to 11.8 million subscribers in the U.S., J.D. Power said. Additionally, satisfaction with FWA technology has remained unchanged since a year ago.
Regardless of location, J.D. Power found that consumers rated 5G FWA as the top choice in terms of satisfaction, particularly in urban and suburban regions, which is interesting considering the multiple options for these consumers generally have compared to rural areas where signals could be spotty.
Better value
The data found that consumers increasingly see FWA as better value than fiberoptic and cable internet.
J.D. Power said FWA’s monthly cost of wireless internet is cheaper per month than the average wired internet plan, $72 versus $81, respectively. About 70% of FWA consumers found their plan affordable compared to those of wired internet consumers.
J.D. Power called this a huge win for companies as cost plays a huge role in consumer adoption in the broadband sector.
The firm said that cost will be the primary way to entice more consumers to try FWA but to win consumers in the long term MNOs will have to find ways to deliver reliability as well particularly as the technology matures and improvements are made.
