LETTER FROM THE AMERICAS
better, projecting that FTTH providers will pass more than 12 million new locations this year. As a result, FTTH stands poised to become the leading wireline broadband platform in the U.S. and Canada in the near future. “Cable still has the market share lead over fibre,” Render observed. “But that’s probably only going to last a couple more years.” Similarly, FWA is making huge strides in the North American broadband market, cutting further into cable’s once dominant position. Driven by big surges by two of the three national U.S. carriers - AT&T and T-Mobile - as well as scores of smaller players, FWA has quickly established itself as a major force in the market. In fact, FWA now accounts for more than 15 million subscribers in the U.S., up from almost zilch just a few years ago, and is projected by analysts to reach as many as 40 million subscribers over the next few years as big telcos like T-Mobile and AT&T step on the gas. For instance, T-Mobile alone is seeking to clear 15 million FWA subs by 2030, up from 8.5 million at the close of last year, after adding nearly 500,000 fixed wireless customers in the final quarter of 2025. “The days of asking the question, is this [FWA] here to stay? Those are gone,” T-Mobile CEO Srini Gopalan declared, speaking during the carrier’s Capital
“DOCSIS is still the connectivity medium for at least 50% of homes,” said Jaimie Lenderman, a research manager at Omdia who tracks the U.S. and Canadian broadband market, noting that translates to about 70 million subscribers. But, she continued, fibre and FWA have both made strong inroads in the market over the past seven years and now account for a combined 42% of broadband customers. Fibre growth has particularly surged throughout the continent. In its latest study of fibre deployments in December, the admittedly partisan Fibre Broadband Association (FBA) reported that FTTH lines now pass nearly 85 million unique locations in the U.S., up 11.8 million from the total just a year earlier, and almost 100 million locations overall (when factoring in second and third fibre passings). This means that more than 60% of American households now have access to speedy broadband service via fibre lines and next-gen PON technology. Likewise, up in Canada, the FBA study found that fibre lines now reach more than 70% of homes and businesses across the country. The average fibre subscription rates in both nations also rose to a solid 46.5% of locations passed. “Things are looking very strong,” said Michael Render, president of RVA Associates, which conducts the annual FTTH deployment surveys for the FBA. While noting that 2025 was fibre’s best year yet, he expects 2026 to be even
U.S. cablecos – Comcast, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, Altice USA (now Optimum) and Mediacom - collectively shed nearly 1.1 million cable modem subscribers. The five big operators then lost even more broadband customers last year, collectively dropping more than 1.2 million data subscribers. As a result, cable’s broadband market share in the U.S. and Canada has plunged to 50%, down from 61% just seven years earlier, and the lowest mark in decades, according to Omdia’s World Broadband Information Service. North America (US & Canada) BB subscribers, % by technology medium Technologies 2018 2025 Cable 61% 50% DSL 21% 5% Fiber 14.50% 30% FWA 1.50% 12% Other 2% 3% Source: Omdia World Broadband Information Service At the same time, FTTH, FWA and LEO satellite players have all boosted their broadband customer counts substantially, almost entirely at cable’s expense. As a result, cable’s formerly commanding market share lead continues to wither away.
Volume 48 No.2 MAY 2026
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