- T-Mobile’s Allan Samson touted progress in urban FWA penetration
- Roughly 70% of its new FWA customers are in major cities
- But he acknowledged T-Mobile has its work cut out in the fiber game
BROADBAND NATION EXPO, ORLANDO, FLORIDA – Fixed wireless access (FWA) is no longer a predominantly rural option, said T-Mobile Chief Broadband Officer Allan Samson Tuesday, as the operator has gained sizable traction in urban markets.
Specifically, he said 70% of T-Mobile’s FWA activations come from the “top 100” U.S. cities and approximately 65% of fixed wireless sales per quarter happen in suburban and urban markets.
T-Mobile isn’t the only operator that’s noted the potential for urban FWA. We’ve also seen Verizon acquire Starry in an effort to grow its multi-dwelling unit (MDU) footprint.
Improved quality of service is one reason more people in urban areas are drawn to FWA, Samson said, touting T-Mobile’s average FWA download speed sits at 239 Mbps and latency has dropped to about 34 milliseconds.
Part of that comes from the company’s advancements in standalone 5G, as he noted T-Mobile has “now converted every fixed wireless customer [to] a standalone 5G core.”
“From a technology perspective, this so-called cell phone quality internet has not only made a lot of progress but has so much more room to run in terms of the innovation,” Samson said.
T-Mobile’s still new to the fiber game
Aside from touting all the bells and whistles of T-Mobile FWA, Samson talked about the operator’s fiber approach – and acknowledged its lack of expertise in the wireline space.
“Our approach is real simple. We don’t build wireline networks, you’ve got to know what you’re not good at,” he said. Hence T-Mobile’s decision to acquire both Lumos and Metronet. Samson said T-Mobile expects to close 2025 with “well north of 3 million homes passed” and “hopefully about 900,000 to a million customers.”
He thinks T-Mobile’s advantage lies in its sales and marketing arm, which could make a difference in boosting the company’s fiber foothold. T-Mobile also sees an opportunity to double down on fiber’s value proposition and improve pricing, whether that’s by bundling with wireless or some other way.
One thing you likely can count on? T-Mobile won't be following in the footsteps of other fiber companies in “going down what I call the cable approach,” where they charge “$49 for the first year, and then its $69 and $89 and some are still charging for Wi-Fi and the router.”
Catch all of our coverage from Broadband Nation Expo this week right here.