Ericsson said that Asia-Pacific will account for 40% of global FWA connections in 2024
Global Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) connections are projected to grow from 160 million by the end of 2024 to 350 million by 2030, accounting for 19% of all fixed broadband connections, according to the latest update of the Ericsson Mobility Report.
According to the report, nearly 80% of these connections are expected to utilize 5G technology, while 4G FWA connections are anticipated to peak in 2026.
Asia-Pacific is poised to lead this growth, increasing its share of global FWA connections from 40% in 2024 to 48% by 2030.
By the end of 2024, FWA traffic is expected to account for 25% of global mobile data traffic, with volumes projected to grow more than fourfold to 170 exabytes per month by 2030, representing 36% of total mobile network traffic, Ericsson said. High-growth regions, such as India, where 5G FWA connections reached nearly 3 million within just over a year of launch, are key contributors to this upward trajectory, the Swedish vendor added.
In the past 12 months, Europe has accounted for 73% of all new 5G FWA launches globally. Meanwhile, Ericsson also highlighted that two U.S. service providers originally set a goal to achieve a combined 11–13 million 5G FWA connections by 2025. After reaching this target ahead of schedule, they have now revised their goal to 20–21 million connections by 2028, according to the report.
The report also indicates that 79% of mobile service providers globally now offer FWA services, with 131 operators providing FWA over 5G, comprising 54% of all FWA providers. Speed-based tariff plans, which allow providers to monetize FWA as an alternative to fixed broadband, are becoming increasingly common. Currently, 43% of FWA providers offer speed-based plans, up from 30% a year ago, while the remainder use volume-based models.
In terms of infrastructure, FWA advancements are accelerating, supported by a 23% expected increase in customer premises equipment (CPE) shipments in 2024 to 37 million units. Operators offering speed-based plans are more likely to provide advanced CPE options, including outdoor or self-install units, reflecting a broader trend toward improving consumer experiences and network efficiency, the Ericsson report said.
This expansion is particularly evident in Europe, which accounted for 73% of all new 5G FWA launches over the past year and in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, where 94% of operators now offer 5G FWA services.
Global 5G subscriptions reached 2.1 billion at the end of the third quarter of the year, with an increase of 163 million during the quarter, according to Ericsson.
The Swedish noted that this figure is expected to rise further, reaching nearly 2.3 billion by the end of the year, accounting for over 25% of all mobile subscriptions.
The vendor also highlighted that momentum behind 5G adoption remains strong, with projections now indicating that 5G will become the dominant mobile access technology by subscription by 2027, surpassing 4G a year earlier than initially expected.
By 2030, global 5G subscriptions are forecast to hit 6.3 billion, representing 67% of all mobile subscriptions, the report stated.
