Consumer FWA Data Traffic Growth will Outpace Subscriber Growth, Reaching 1 Zettabyte Worldwide by 2030

According to the latest findings from global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, consumer Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) service revenue will grow at a robust 18.8% CAGR between 2023 and 2030, reaching nearly US$111 billion, while annual data traffic will rise to 1 Zettabyte (ZB) by 2030 at an 18.7% CAGR. This growth reflects the continued success of 5G FWA deployments by global operators as they work to monetize their 5G networks, bridge the digital divide, and position the technology as a primary broadband connection.

“The deployment of FWA services, specifically 5G FWA services, has continued to grow as operators continue to see strong growth in their respective subscriber bases and, in turn, service revenue growth,” said Larbi Belkhit, Industry Analyst at ABI Research.

The subscriber base for FWA is expected to grow substantially, reaching almost 233 million by 2030, with 5G FWA set to account for 81% of the subscriber base by 2030. This is reflective of a number of success stories, namely in the US with both T-Mobile and Verizon revising their respective FWA connection targets to almost double their original goals, and Reliance Jio reportedly already serving almost 5 million homes in India, having launched their FWA services less than 2 years ago.

While volume in regions such as Asia-Pacific will continue to be greater than in North America, their lower ARPUs will reduce their relative share of the service revenue generated compared to markets such as North America, which will experience the largest growth during the forecast period.

“Ongoing technology advancements within 5G Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) will continue to play a critical role in driving growth in FWA subscriber bases and service revenue. Furthermore, as 5G networks evolve, more operators will begin shifting toward service monetization business models over simple best-effort speed monetization,” Belkhit concludes.

These findings are from ABI Research’s Consumer Fixed Wireless Access market data report. This report is part of the company’s 5G, 6G & Open RAN research service, which includes research, data, and ABI Insights.