- T-Mobile expanded fiber broadband to more than 500K households across 10 states
- More fiber means more access to fixed wireless backhaul
- The carrier can bring fiber closer to the home but still deploy FWA when needed
It’s full steam ahead for T-Mobile fiber, as the carrier just expanded its fiber home internet to more than 500,000 U.S. households. More fiber could also be a boon to T-Mobile’s still-growing fixed wireless access (FWA) business.
“T-Mobile’s access to fiber will increase their ability to provide FWA,” said Mobile Experts Principal Joe Madden. Not only is fiber good for the backhaul fixed wireless requires, but T-Mobile can still deploy FWA in cases where it’d be too expensive to run fiber all the way to the home.
“It’s the last 100 feet from the curb to the house that creates more than 80% of the cost for a fiber-to-the-home service,” he explained. “So, T-Mobile will be in a good position to bring fiber close to the home and then use FWA for the unpredictable and expensive part.”
Much of the cost to deploy fiber is associated with the issues that come up when digging trenches on the customer’s property, Madden said. Further, underground fiber can cost more than twice as much as aerial fiber.
“Imagine the hassle with digging up sewer lines, water pipes, electrical wires, etc.,” he added.
T-Mobile’s expanded fiber availability comes after the company in April closed its Lumos acquisition. It’s also planning to buy fiber provider Metronet, though that deal is still awaiting approval.
Nevertheless, more fiber won’t change T-Mobile’s FWA strategy, said Recon Analytics Principal Roger Entner. The company will just own the fiber in the Lumos and Metronet markets and will no longer have to purchase that access from third parties.
“T-Mobile will continue to sell FWA to its heart’s content,” Entner said. “The fiber footprint is not very large.”
T-Mobile’s lay of the land
According to a T-Mobile rep, fiber broadband is currently available in about 40 markets across 10 states; Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin.
“We also continue to launch additional locations,” the rep added.
On the fixed wireless front, T-Mobile as of Q1 2025 had around 6.9 million high-speed internet customers. The company has noted over 1 million customers are on the waitlist for FWA, but it will give some of these customers the option to choose fiber.
With Lumos and Metronet in its arsenal, T-Mobile has said it expects to add 12-15 million more fiber passings over the next few years.
Still, the carrier has some fierce competition in terms of numbers.
AT&T, which just announced it surpassed 30 million fiber locations, expects to double that footprint by 2030 with the help of its Lumen assets. Verizon, through its Frontier acquisition, is aiming for more than 30 million passings by 2028.