Fixed wireless access (FWA) connections in India are expected to reach 21.4 million by the end of 2030, growing at a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.4% between 2025 and 2030, according to the latest report released by GlobalData.<\/p>\n
The research agency attributed the growth to robust demand for high-speed internet services in areas with limited fiber coverage and the emergence of FWA as an alternative for wired broadband connections.<\/p>\n
Currently, private telcos \u2013 Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel \u2013 sell their commercial 5G fixed broadband services to subscribers, and collectively account for nearly 12 million subscribers.<\/p>\n
Jio has become the world\u2019s largest 5G FWA operator, with 9.5 million subscribers, as of Q3 2025.
\nIn the absence of other meaningful 5G applications, fixed wireless access has become a cornerstone of telecom operators\u2019 5G monetisation strategy. State-controlled Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) also intends to provide 5G FWA, following the launch of its commercial next-generation network soon.<\/p>\n
The public sector telco had soft-launched Quantum 5G FWA service in the city of Hyderabad in June 2025.<\/p>\n
GlobalData said BSNL’s initiative marks “one of the earliest large-scale public-sector pushes into FWA”. It noted that the service delivered close to 1Gbps download speeds in trials and uses self-install consumer premises equipment (CPE) that can cover nearly 85% of households without requiring fiber rollout.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis growth is being driven by operators\u2019 efforts to popularize the services, especially with the introduction of 5G FWA services by Reliance Jio (JioAirFiber) and Bharti Airtel (Xstream AirFiber) in 2023,\u201d said Neha Misra, telecom analyst at GlobalData.<\/p>\n
The ongoing service expansion by the two companies across the nation to deliver high-capacity home and business broadband, especially targeting areas with limited fiber, is also driving the FWA market growth, according to Misra.<\/p>\n
While Airtel has previously outlined plans to scale its home-broadband base through FWA, Jio is deploying a dedicated 5G network slice for AirFiber, using automated, technology-agnostic infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven operations, backed by its ambition to connect 100 million homes via FWA and Fiber.<\/p>\n
\u201cFWA can remove last-mile connectivity barriers, which means more homes and businesses, including those in rural and far-flung areas, can get online, thereby helping bridge the digital divide and advance the country towards a high-quality digital society,\u201d Misra said.<\/p>\n
Evolving use cases across residential and enterprise segments, including smart homes, small & medium enterprise (SME) connectivity, remote learning, and telemedicine, are also expected to drive FWA market growth over the forecast period.<\/p>\n
The increasing availability and continued expansion of 5G infrastructure by major telcos will also augur well for the FWA service expansion and adoption in the country, as per GlobalData.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy leveraging nationwide 5G coverage, introducing tiered data plans, and bundling digital home services, operators can unlock higher ARPU, accelerate market penetration in underserved areas, and diversify beyond traditional revenues,\u201d the telecom analyst said, adding that FWA is set to become a key strategic pillar supporting sustained operator monetisation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fixed wireless access (FWA) connections in India are expected to reach 21.4 million by the end of 2030, growing at a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.4% between 2025 and 2030, according to the latest report released by GlobalData. The research agency attributed the growth to robust demand for high-speed internet services in areas with limited fiber coverage and the emergence of FWA as an alternative for wired broadband connections. Currently, private telcos \u2013 Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel \u2013 sell their commercial 5G fixed broadband services to subscribers, and collectively account for nearly 12 million subscribers. Jio […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-975778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-telecom"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=975778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975778\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=975778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=975778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=975778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}