The US wireless industry thrived in Q1, achieving a record-breaking quarter with over $50 billion in revenue for the 12th consecutive time, despite trade wars and economic uncertainties. The industry saw robust revenue growth, historically low churn rates, and positive postpaid growth in the 5G era, marking the strongest three-year performance in 16 years. T-Mobile led the market, dominating net-adds and postpaid revenue with an 8% year-over-year increase, while also dominating competitors in market cap, outvaluing most major European operators combined. However, Charter outperformed T-Mobile in postpaid phone net-adds, showing uneven success across the sector.
Fixed wireless access (FWA) emerged as a standout, with the market surpassing 12.5 million subscribers, driven by mobile operators like T-Mobile and Verizon, who captured over 97% of broadband net-adds. This growth decimated cable companies, which lost 1.3 million subscribers over six quarters while mobile operators added 5.6 million FWA customers. Cable giants like Charter and Comcast, now key tier-2 players, are gaining mobile subscribers but struggle against FWA dominance. Looking ahead, operators are expanding into adjacent areas like private networks, edge computing, AI, and enterprise services, with potential M&A activity expected in 2025 due to a new administration.
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Topics covered in the research update.
- Q1 2025 US Mobile Market Highlights
- 2025: State of the industry and looking forward
- 5G Advance launches in the US
- Industrializing Slicing
- Impact of Tariffs on Telecom
- 5G’s Steady Advance
- NTN – Wireless Wars move to space
- Convergence Battles Loom
- AI RAN – What’s Next?
- FWA vs. Cable Broadband – How is 2025 shaping up?
- Tug of War: Broadband vs. Mobile
- 5G Monetization: What can the West learn from the East?
- End of Mobile Data Growth? The Implications
- Global 5G Race Update
- Getting 6G Right
- What to Expect in the Coming Months?
- US Wireless Market Q1 2025 Analysis
- Service Revenues
- ARPU
- Subscribers
- Competition
- 5G Progress
- Fixed Wireless Progress
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