AT&T FWA Spectrum Play Targets Houston’s ISP Market

The US fixed broadband market is in flux, with Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) emerging as a formidable challenger to the long-standing dominance of cable and fibre. While T-Mobile and Verizon have aggressively captured market share with their 5G-powered home internet services, AT&T has, until recently, adopted a more measured approach. Now, that strategy is shifting.

Bolstered by a significant, multi-billion-dollar spectrum acquisition, AT&T is re-engaging with FWA as a primary competitive tool.

The renewed focus is not just a nationwide strategy; it is crystallising in key markets, transforming cities like Houston, Texas, into a three-way battleground between incumbent cable, established fibre and the growing threat of wireless broadband.

Analysis from Mike Dano, Lead Industry Analyst at Ookla, reveals the mechanics and implications of AT&T’s ambitious play.

A renewed focus fuelled by a US$23bn spectrum bet

AT&T’s strategic pivot to FWA signals its intention to compete head-on with its mobile rivals, who have already attracted millions of subscribers. “Like Verizon and T-Mobile, AT&T is now putting more emphasis on its FWA business,” states Mike.

AT&T's focus is backed by substantial investment. “As part of that effort, AT&T agreed in August to purchase US$23 billion worth of spectrum from EchoStar, including an average of 30 MHz of nationwide 3.45 GHz midband spectrum.”

The deal is critical not just for its scale, but for its speed of deployment. The new spectrum assets can be integrated into AT&T’s network far more quickly than traditional hardware roll-outs.

Mike notes, “AT&T can activate that spectrum relatively quickly;  the operator can add EchoStar’s spectrum into its network through a software upgrade to its existing 5G equipment.”

The ability to rapidly enhance network capacity gives AT&T the agility to respond to market demand and competitive pressure.

The Houston proving ground

The enhanced FWA strategy is being put to the test in Houston, a market where AT&T has a significant fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) footprint. “AT&T’s FWA strategy is crystallising in Houston, Texas, where AT&T operates an extensive fibre network,” Mike explains.

The move positions AT&T as a direct competitor to all fixed-line incumbents. “AT&T’s efforts there may pose a competitive threat to other fixed internet operators in the Houston market, including Xfinity provider Comcast, Ezee Fiber and others.”

Houston is an ideal testbed. It is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the US and, according to Mike, “Houston is a prime battleground for cable, fibre and FWA.”

Of course, performance varies significantly between access technologies. Data from Ookla Speedtest Intelligence provides a clear snapshot of the current landscape.

“According to Ookla Speedtest Intelligence data, AT&T’s median FWA download speed in Houston was 106.40 Mbps in September 2025 and its median upload speed during that period was 7.41 Mbps,” Mike reports.

He provides crucial context: the performance, while robust for many households, is “slower than the fibre offerings from AT&T and the cable offerings from Comcast in the city.”

A targeted strategy of convergence and expansion

The data highlights that AT&T is not positioning its “Internet Air” FWA product as a direct replacement for its own multi-gigabit fibre. Instead, FWA is a strategic tool for expansion and customer retention.

The approach is particularly visible in the Houston suburbs. As Mike points out: “AT&T is using FWA to expand beyond the reaches of its fibre network in Houston, thereby competing with other fixed internet providers in Houston suburbs like Conroe and League City.”

The strategy is deeply intertwined with AT&T’s overarching goal of convergence. By bundling mobile and home internet, AT&T can create ‘stickier’ customers with lower churn and higher lifetime value.

The results are already promising. “In the third quarter of 2025,” Mike notes, “AT&T said that more than 41% of its fibre customers also subscribed to its mobile service and more than half of its Internet Air FWA subscribers also subscribed to AT&T’s mobile service.”

The spectrum capacity to compete

AT&T’s FWA ambitions are entirely dependent on network capacity. Serving fixed broadband customers consumes significantly more data than mobile-only users, placing immense strain on a 5G network. This is where the EchoStar spectrum acquisition becomes paramount.

The new spectrum will provide an immediate and substantial capacity boost in key markets like Houston.

“AT&T’s midband spectrum holdings (C-band and 3.45 GHz) in Houston stand to grow from 120 MHz to 150 MHz, a 25% increase, thanks to the addition of EchoStar’s 3.45 GHz spectrum licenses,” Mike states. “More spectrum typically results in additional network capacity and faster speeds.”

The additional 25% of the midband spectrum provides crucial breathing room. According to Ookla RootMetrics drive-test data, AT&T already relies heavily on its C-band and 3.45 GHz holdings for its existing 5G smartphone customers in Houston.

The new spectrum allows it to aggressively market FWA without degrading the mobile experience, a critical balance for a converged operator.

A new FWA contender emerges

While AT&T may have been slower to scale its FWA subscriber base than its rivals, its renewed push, supported by a significant spectrum investment, marks a new phase in the US broadband wars.

The operator’s strategy is not one of blunt force, but of targeted application. FWA is the tool to expand its footprint, bridge gaps in its fibre build and drive its all-important convergence strategy.

Houston serves as the perfect microcosm of the new competitive dynamic. With EchoStar's spectrum rapidly deployed via software upgrades, AT&T is now better armed to challenge cable incumbents on the suburban fringes and defend its turf.

The coming months will prove decisive, as the industry watches closely to see if this spectrum-fuelled FWA strategy can successfully reshape the competitive landscape, one Texas suburb at a time.