The Polish operator’s streaming data emphasises the dominance of router-based streaming which reflects the issue mobile operators rolling out FWA will face

T-Mobile Poland has shared some interesting data about its users which actually raises a conundrum for operators looking to roll out fixed wireless access (FWA). First, the numbers. During the fall and winter season, T-Mobile users transferred as much as 32,500 TB of data while using streaming platforms – a 100% increase compared to the warmer months of the year.

However, routers rule in autumn – big screens are winning over smartphones. Although smartphones are everywhere, users are clearly more likely to choose home screens in the colder months. Traffic generated by devices was: smartphones at 3.8 thousand TB and routers at 14 thousand TB. 

The operator reckons the dominance of routers shows that autumn streaming is moving to larger screens. Saturdays and Sundays remain the favourite time for movie marathons. On weekends, users used 41% more data than on weekdays. T-Mobile, which does offer consumer FWA – it introduced two new FWA packages in February 2024 – reassures everyone by pointing out its “5G network is fully prepared for these increased customer demands, ensuring stable and fast connections even during peak traffic.” 

The rise of 5G FWA 

As T-Mobile Poland demonstrates, fixed broadband users in the home are going to use substantially more data than mobile users and this creates both an opportunity and a challenge for mobile operators. Analysts Tefficient, who are launching an FWA Tracker next year, point out that if FWA wants to be perceived as an ordinary fixed broadband service then a FWA customer should of course be able to use as much data as a regular fixed broadband customer.

They found that FWA usage is still lower than the overall fixed broadband (FBB) usage. Some countries have higher FWA usage than FBB in other countries, though. Thanks to higher speeds enabled by 5G and new spectrum – plus the gradual elimination of usage caps on FWA – Tefficient believes FWA usage should grow faster than the overall FBB usage, eventually closing the usage gap.

Crucially, that also means that many mobile networks will carry more FWA traffic than regular mobile traffic. However, pure mobile operators have been able to add 5G-based FWA to their service portfolio and integrated operators have joined in, for all sorts of reasons. 

For example, in Australia, the government-owned NBN Co’s wholesale broadband products are so expensive, the big three mobile operators have been able to grow FWA businesses with decent margins. So much so that NBN Co has now pretty much peaked in its rollout and has removed artificial speed limits – 50 Mbps was the most popular speed selected by users, even on fibre – to re-establish a differentiation against the FWA players. 

Tefficient has summed up the reported broadband net adds for a total of seven US broadband providers, Comcast/Xfinity, Charter/Spectrum, Verizon, AT&T, Altice/Optimum, T-Mobile, and US Cellular to find that since mid 2022, the fixed broadband base of the US is, in essence, no longer growing. At the same time, FWA providers add roughly 900 thousand FWA subscribers per quarter. Prior to the launch of FWA, fixed broadband had a similar growth as FWA now has.

Closer to home, they highlight Norway. Telenor pursued an aggressive plan to shut down its copper network, forcing hundreds of thousands of DSL and PSTN users to migrate to newer technologies – a shift that risked driving customers to competitors. Although it expanded its fibre footprint and could also offer broadband over its cable TV network, neither provided nationwide reach. 

To bridge this gap, Telenor invested heavily in fixed wireless access (FWA) alongside fibre. The strategy worked: competition reacted slowly and FWA helped offset subscriber losses during the copper switch-off, which Telenor completed for the retail market in 2023.

By June 2025, Telenor had 116,000 FWA subscribers in Norway, a significant figure given its total broadband base of 701,000, meaning FWA accounts for 17% of its broadband customers. Telia, Telenor’s main mobile rival, has also embraced FWA, reaching 66,000 customers by the same date – around 14% of its broadband base – and unlike Telenor, Telia’s FWA numbers continued to grow.

Netflix dominates

Back in Poland, the largest traffic generator remains Netflix, with T-Mobile customers using nearly 19,000 TB of data. The average T-Mobile user used approximately 7 GB during this time watching their favourite titles – although the operator did not disclose how much of this data was users scrolling endlessly in the home page trying to find something to watch.

For those interested, peak data usage occurred on 26 October, when T-Mobile’s network recorded 1,700 TB of streaming data transferred in a 24-hour period. This is the result of the premieres of high-profile productions such as: House Full of Dynamite; The Witcher: Season 4; Nobody Wants This: Season 2 and Mr Kim’s Dream Life – which, taken together, the titles sum up political discourse in 2025.