⚠ Fixed Wireless Net Adds Fell by a ThirdModerate threat

Verizon (VZ) — threat to the moat

Verizon added a third fewer fixed wireless homes in mid-2026 than a year earlier, as fibre took the new customers and the airwaves filled up.

The product that justified part of the C-Band bill has started to slow. Verizon added 193 thousand fixed wireless connections in the June 2026 quarter against 278 thousand a year earlier, down 30.6%, and 407 thousand in the first half against 586 thousand1.

Verizon broadband net additions, Q2 (thousands)278FWA Q2 2025193FWA Q2 202632Fiber Q2 2025155Fiber Q2 2026Verizon Q2 2026 results release, broadband statistics
Fibre took over the growth from fixed wireless.

Part of that is a choice. Fibre net additions rose from 32 thousand to 155 thousand in the quarter2, mostly because Frontier's fibre customers now count as Verizon's, and a company with fibre to sell in a neighbourhood will steer new customers toward it. Total broadband net additions were 348 thousand against 310 thousand3.

But fixed wireless also has a physical ceiling that fibre does not. Each home shares a cell sector with the phones around it, so sign-ups have to be rationed where the network is busy, and the busiest places are where most people live.

AT&T's fixed wireless product added 279,000 customers in the same quarter4, against Verizon's 193 thousand5. AT&T sells the same product, so the slowdown may be competitive as well as physical. The company's total broadband additions rose only because of fibre6.

If fixed wireless net additions stay below 200 thousand a quarter through 2027 while fibre is still being built, the product will have become a bridge to fibre rather than a second business on the airwaves.

References
  1. ReportedVerizon added 193 thousand fixed wireless connections in the June 2026 quarter against 278 thousand a year earlier, down 30.6%, and 407 thousand in the first half against 586 thousand.
    Verizon second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99 - consolidated and segment results, operating statistics, cash flow, balance sheet and guidance - broadband statistics: fiber and fixed wireless connections and net additions. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedFibre net additions rose from 32 thousand to 155 thousand in the quarter, mostly because Frontier's fibre customers now count as Verizon's, and a company with fibre to sell in a neighbourhood will steer new customers toward it.
    Verizon second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99 - consolidated and segment results, operating statistics, cash flow, balance sheet and guidance - broadband statistics: fiber and fixed wireless connections and net additions. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedTotal broadband net additions were 348 thousand against 310 thousand.
    Verizon second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99 - consolidated and segment results, operating statistics, cash flow, balance sheet and guidance - broadband statistics: fiber and fixed wireless connections and net additions. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedAT&T's fixed wireless product added 279,000 customers in the same quarter, against Verizon's 193 thousand.
    AT&T second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - postpaid phone net adds and churn, fiber and fixed wireless net adds, fiber locations. — Q2 2026 · publ. July 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedAT&T's fixed wireless product added 279,000 customers in the same quarter, against Verizon's 193 thousand.
    Verizon second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99 - consolidated and segment results, operating statistics, cash flow, balance sheet and guidance - broadband statistics: fiber and fixed wireless connections and net additions. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedThe company's total broadband additions rose only because of fibre.
    Verizon second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99 - consolidated and segment results, operating statistics, cash flow, balance sheet and guidance - broadband statistics: fiber and fixed wireless connections and net additions. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 29, 2026