Leichtman Research Group: Fixed Wireless Services Accounted for 90% of the Broadband Net Adds in 2022!

Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) found that the largest cable and wireline phone providers and fixed wireless services in the U.S. – representing about 95% of the market – acquired about 3,500,000 net additional broadband Internet subscribers in 2022, compared to a pro forma gain of about 3,725,000 subscribers in 2021.

These top broadband providers account for about 110.5 million subscribers, with top cable companies having 75.6 million broadband subscribers, top wireline phone companies having 30.8 million subscribers, and top fixed wireless services having 4.1 million subscribers.

LRG’s findings for 2022 include:

Overall, broadband additions in 2022 were 94% of those in 2021.
The top cable companies added about 515,000 subscribers in 2022 – compared to about 2.8 million net adds in 2021.
The top wireline phone companies lost about 180,000 total broadband subscribers in 2022 – compared to about 210,000 net adds in 2021.
- Wireline Telcos had about 2.4 million net adds via fiber in 2022, offset by about 2.6 million non-fiber net losses.
Fixed wireless/5G home Internet services from T-Mobile and Verizon added about 3,170,000 subscribers in 2022 – compared to about 730,000 net adds in 2021.

“Top broadband providers added about 3.5 million subscribers in 2022. Fixed wireless services (FWA) accounted for 90% of the net broadband additions in 2022, compared to 20% of the net adds in 2021,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc. “Total broadband net adds in 2022 were slightly lower than last year, and down from about 5 million in 2020, but were more than in any year from 2012-2019.”

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FWA in the Spotlight:

A recent survey of some T-Mobile fixed wireless customers, conducted by the financial analysts at Wolfe Research, “T-Mobile Fixed Wireless Consumer Survey & Broadband Industry Implications,” found that 90% rated their service as “good enough.” The firm surveyed Facebook’s T-Mobile FWA user group, totalling over 15,000 members, in December 2022. Based on the 60 replies it received, 90% said they were mostly satisfied. The firm also found that 42% of respondents previously subscribed to a cable connection, 37% hailed from DSL operators, and 6% previously used fiber. Around 8% had no prior broadband service. Moreover, the financial analysts at Evercore expect T-Mobile to accumulate around 450,000 new fixed wireless customers in the first quarter of 2023, down from the 524,000 the operator reported in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Verizon added 262,000 residential FWA customers in Q4, up from +38,000 in the year-ago period, to end 2022 with 884,000 residential FWA subscribers. The company also signed on 117,000 business FWA subs in the quarter, up from +40,000 in the year-ago period, ending 2022 with 568,000 business FWA customers. About 70% of the consumer fixed wireless gross additions have come from bundling an existing wireless service, while 30% are new to Verizon. Interestingly, the experience is flipped for Verizon Business, where 70% of FWA customers were new to Verizon.

In contrast to the widely-held view that FWA is a “lower quality” service than wired broadband, Verizon says their principal selling point is FWA network’s greater reliability versus wireline alternatives. Cable’s outside plant issues can take days to resolve, a particularly critical issue in B2B, where cablecos (like Comcast Business) have increased their market share.

Image Credit: Verizon

The Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) kicked off its annual trade show this week in Louisville, Kentucky, stating that WISPs service a total of 9 million Americans, many of whom live in the hardest to reach and serve parts of the country

According to Fierce Wireless, Cox is using 5G technology to test FWA services near Macon, Georgia; Tucson, Arizona; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Broadband Providers

Subscribers at end of 2022

Net Adds in 2022

Cable Companies
Comcast	32,151,000	250,000
Charter	30,433,000	344,000
Cox*	5,560,000	30,000
Altice	4,282,900	(103,300)
Mediacom*	1,468,000	5,000
Cable One**	1,060,400	14,400
Breezeline**	693,781	(22,997)

Total Top Cable

75,649,081

517,103

Wireline Phone Companies
AT&T	15,386,000	(118,000)
Verizon	7,484,000	119,000
Lumen^	3,037,000	(253,000)
Frontier	2,839,000	40,000
Windstream*	1,175,000	10,300
TDS	510,000	19,700
Consolidated**	367,458	724

Total Top Wireline Phone

30,798,458

(181,276)

Fixed Wireless Services
T-Mobile	2,646,000	2,000,000
Verizon	1,452,000	1,171,000

Total Top Fixed Wireless

4,098,000

3,171,000

Total Top Broadband

110,545,539

3,506,827

Sources: The Companies and Leichtman Research Group, Inc.

* LRG estimate

** Includes LRG estimate of pro forma net adds

^ Includes the impact of a divestiture completed in October 2022

TDS residential subscribers, includes 305,200 wireline subscribers and 204,800 cable subscribers
Company subscriber counts may not solely represent residential households – about 6.5% of the total are non-residential
Top broadband providers represent approximately 95% of all subscribers
Net additions reflect pro forma results from system sales and acquisitions, reporting adjustments, and the addition of new providers to the list – therefore, comparing totals in this release to prior releases will not produce accurate findings

About Leichtman Research Group, Inc:

Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) specializes in research and analysis on broadband, media and entertainment industries. LRG combines ongoing consumer surveys with industry tracking and analysis, to provide companies with a richer understanding of current market conditions, and the potential impact and adoption of new products and services. For more information about LRG, please call (603) 397-5400 or visit www.LeichtmanResearch.com

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