By Viet Nguyen, President, 5G Americas | May 28, 2025
Licensed wireless spectrum has quietly become the most important asset in U.S. telecom competition — and we’re now seeing the market transform around it.
If you follow American football, offenses either run on the ground or pass through the air. Broadband competition has likewise taken to the air, moving ever more data wirelessly—does the U.S. have enough spectrum to keep up?
As the United States Senate deliberates on the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025,” the stakes for American leadership in telecommunications could not be greater. The bill restores the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to auction licenses for wireless spectrum through 2034, identifying 600 MHz of spectrum for auction, and setting up a timeline of three years to bring at least 200 MHz of that to auction.
But why is spectrum so important?
For decades, broadband access was dominated by a few major infrastructure providers with vast wired footprints. But over the past three years, that dominance has changed. What’s driving this change isn’t just new technology — it’s the strategic deployment and control of licensed mid-band spectrum.
Today, two seismic forces are reshaping the landscape: the explosive growth of 5G‑based Fixed Wireless Access (FWA, home internet delivered over mobile 5G networks), and the rapid rise of new entrants into the mobile marketplace through Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) arrangements (companies that rent capacity on existing mobile networks) – networks that ride on top of the infrastructure and spectrum of mobile network operators. At the center of both developments is the increasingly pivotal role of commercially licensed spectrum.
Since mid-2022, FWA has been responsible for virtually all net broadband growth in the U.S. In every quarter during this period, roughly 600,000 to 700,000 new broadband subscribers opted for wireless home internet over traditional cable or DSL. As of the first quarter of 2025, it is estimated more than 12.7 million Americans now rely on FWA for their home internet — more than double the total from just two years prior. Several leading operators have surpassed key FWA subscriber milestones, and current trajectories suggest national totals could exceed 20 million by the end of 2028.
This is no longer a rural-only story. By late 2024, FWA had achieved approximately 7% market share in both urban and rural areas. Penetration rates in select metro areas are even higher. Importantly, this growth has occurred in a mature broadband market where more than 97% of households already have internet access — meaning that FWA is not merely connecting the unconnected, but actively displacing incumbent providers. Indeed, 5G FWA has been able to do so and retain the highest customer satisfaction scores – higher than fiber, cable or DSL.
The pace of adoption speaks volumes. In 2023 alone, fixed wireless subscriptions increased by 2.3 million, nearly matching the growth of fiber. During the same period, cable broadband subscriptions declined by more than 1 million, and legacy DSL connections fell by over 3.1 million. That trend is accelerating in 2025.
Competition has sharpened dramatically as a result. In early 2022, roughly half of U.S. homes had only one provider offering download speeds above 100 Mbps. By the end of 2023, that figure had dropped to 22 percent, thanks largely to the footprint expansion of FWA. Indeed, from 2022 to 2023, the percentage of U.S. households with at least three provider options for a 100/20 Mbps service increased from approximately 19 percent to approximately 29 percent.
What makes this possible is spectrum — specifically, mid-band licensed spectrum. These frequencies provide the ideal balance of range and bandwidth for delivering high-speed internet wirelessly. The expansion of FWA has only been possible because certain operators secured and deployed licensed spectrum in the 2.5 GHz and 3.7 GHz bands. These resources have enabled them to serve data-heavy residential traffic without degrading mobile network performance.
At the same time, other large market players have entered the wireless space from the opposite direction — by leveraging MVNO agreements to offer mobile services bundled with their existing customer products. By early 2025, these MVNO providers served over 17.7 million mobile lines — up from less than 3 million just five years prior. In 2024 alone, they added more than 3.3 million new mobile customers, capturing approximately 15% of the entire industry’s gross additions for the year.
This new mobile competition is entirely dependent on access to licensed wireless infrastructure. MVNO providers rely on wholesale agreements with mobile network operators who hold vast portfolios of licensed spectrum. Voice calls, data traffic, and mobile connectivity are delivered across these licensed airwaves. Without them, the current MVNO landscape would not exist.
Indeed, the new battleground for telecom competition has moved out of the ground and into the air.
While some of these providers are investing in Wi-Fi offloading and localized network solutions using lightly licensed or shared bands such as CBRS, most of the mobile traffic in America still travels over commercial licensed networks. That reality highlights the foundational importance of spectrum to any serious participant in today’s telecom market.
Therefore, it’s no coincidence that the largest spectrum auctions in recent history have drawn extraordinary interest. In just three auctions — spanning C-band (2020‑21), the 3.45 GHz band (2021‑22), and CBRS (2020) — bidders committed over $100 billion to secure mid-band spectrum rights. These were not speculative buys; they were strategic bets on the future of both mobility and fixed wireless broadband. Access to mid-band spectrum is the critical enabler for nationwide FWA rollouts, capacity upgrades, and new service innovation.
But as you can see, the last spectrum auction was in 2021-2022. We are now a few years out from the last time that the Federal Communications Commission had the authority to conduct spectrum auctions. This is something the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025” will remedy. Thus, policy and planning decisions in Washington, D.C. now sit at the center of this competitive equation. One economic analysis found that allocating 400 MHz of additional mid-band spectrum to mobile would generate $1.1 trillion in GDP, 6.18 million new jobs, and about $1.5 trillion in consumer surplus.
The US Senate stands at the crossroads of this challenge. We can either move forward with more competition and improved choices for consumers – or we can stagnate.
The urgency is real. One leading national operator has reported more than one million prospective customers on a waiting list for its FWA product — demand it cannot currently meet due to spectrum limitations. If more licensed mid-band isn’t made available soon, growth may stall in capacity-constrained markets, delaying further competitive gains.
For MVNOs, spectrum policy takes on a different but equally consequential dimension. As they scale, these providers are seeking opportunities to acquire localized spectrum rights, reduce wholesale dependence, and participate in future shared-access frameworks. Several have urged regulators to expand CBRS-style licensing into adjacent mid-band frequencies. Others have advocated for more flexible spectrum use policies to support innovation and cost efficiencies.
But what’s true is that more access to spectrum will benefit MVNO’s as well. Improved speeds and coverage benefit MVNO customers just as well as the customers of the mobile network operators themselves.
At its core, these developments reflect a market that is converging. Traditional broadband providers are becoming wireless operators. Mobile carriers are entering the home broadband business. And every participant — regardless of legacy — is now either leveraging licensed spectrum or lobbying for access to it.
This isn’t an accident. It’s the product of effective spectrum policy, forward-leaning investment, and consumer demand for better, more affordable connectivity options. It’s also a reminder that spectrum is no longer a background resource. It is the front line of competitive differentiation.
Going forward, it will be essential for policymakers to recognize this convergence and support a national strategy that ensures a steady pipeline of mid-band spectrum for commercial use. Whether through exclusive-use auctions or new shared-access models, the goal must be to preserve and expand the competitive momentum that licensed spectrum has unleashed.
Spectrum is no longer just a technical detail or a regulatory formality. It is the infrastructure layer upon which America’s broadband future now depends. The next wave of wireless competition, innovation, and consumer benefit will rise or fall based on how — and to whom — spectrum is made available.
