This month, Speedtest Intelligence released its third quarter 2023 results for its Speedtest Global Index Report. In this report it looks at a long list of internet providers, from cable companies to wireless providers to see how fast they really are. It’s the 5G home internet services that saw a steady increase in speeds.
5G home internet services averaged 213.75 Mbps down and 23.71 Mbps up, according to the report. This is up from the same period a year ago when 5G home internet only averaged 172.30 Mbps down and 22.40 Mbps up.
We are still waiting for third-quarter subscriber numbers, but the second-quarter growth were very strong for T-Mobile and Verizon. The rise of 5G home internet service was evident in the second quarter, with the combined new subscribers from Verizon and T-Mobile outpacing the rest of the broadband industry.
The two combined for 890,000 net new subscribers, or the fifth consecutive quarter in which fixed wireless services exceeded 800,000, according to the Leichtman Research Group. The entire industry actually only added 840,000 subscribers, a lower figure that accounts for big losses on the DSL side.
AT&T is also joining the 5G Home Internet race as it launched AT&T Air in a handful of markets this year. AT&T and Verizon, in particular, are eager to push 5G home internet services because its the other parts of their businesses that are bleeding. The top wireline phone companies lost a combined 510,000 DSL customers, offset by 450,000 net new fiber customers. In total, they lost a net 60,000 customers in the second quarter.
If you have been looking for an internet service to surf the web and watch Netflix, you may want to give 5G internet a second look.