Verizon, one of the largest phone carriers in the United States, is currently gaining attention across the telecommunications industry due to growing demand and consumer trends for its 5G home internet service.
Verizon’s 5G home internet service, also known as fixed wireless access (FWA) internet, gained 261,000 new customers in the third quarter of this year, according to the company’s latest earnings report.
“We have approximately 5.4 million FWA customers and have exceeded $3 billion in annual revenue and continue to grow,” Verizon Chief Financial Officer Anthony Skiadas said on an October earnings call. “We believe FWA can be a long-term, sustainable business.”
Frustrated by rising monthly bills, many Americans have cut themselves off from traditional internet services.
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about 43% of Americans say their internet service will see the largest cost increase in 2024 compared to other home services.
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The average price increase for Internet services was $20.78.
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return, 53% Americans are most depressed Their internet service has hidden fees, and 39% Frustrated with the price increase after the promotion period ended.
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Almost Three-quarters of Americans Being canceled, downgraded or considering changing internet providers due to excessive prices.
Source: Reviews.org
Fixed wireless internet is also available from T-Mobile and AT&T, and it has been a popular choice among consumers, mainly because it’s available in rural areas and affordable.
“While 5G home internet isn’t technically faster than cable or fiber internet, it offers a lot of value,” Peter Holslin, editor-in-chief of Reviews.org, said in the survey. “5G internet plans are typically sold at a flat rate with no additional setup or equipment fees, and when you pair it with a cell phone plan from the same provider, you often get other perks like unlimited data and bundle discounts.”
As Verizon benefits from this major shift in consumer behavior, it recently decided to limit its 5G home internet service.
According to a recent post on social media platform Reddit, a Verizon customer noted that the company sent them an email warning them that their 5G home internet service was experiencing reduced speeds because the service was being used from a different address than the one they provided when they signed up.
“Your Verizon Home Internet speeds have been reduced because the service is being used in a location different from your eligible service address, as required by our Terms of Service,” the email from Verizon reads. “To restore your previous internet speeds, please use the link below to request a transfer of your service and equipment to your new address. This step is important to ensure we can provide you with the best quality of service. If you have questions or if you believe this notification was sent in error, please contact us at 800-922-0204. Submit a transfer request.”
In the post, the Verizon customer claimed that “after checking the internet speed, the speed dropped to 10mbps and went up 3mbps.”
Verizon does outline in its terms of service that its 5G home internet “may only be used” at the address customers used to sign up for the service.
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Verizon also warned that the company “may terminate or modify” customers’ Internet if they move to another address or use the service without notifying the company.
Despite this provision, Verizon sales representatives allowed customers to bypass the provision to meet sales targets.
A Reddit user who claimed to be a former Verizon employee commented under the post that the company struggled to deliver promised internet speeds and resolve service issues when customers were using home internet service at different addresses.
“They (Verizon) map out an area and determine that customers within that specific area will get the best coverage possible, which will result in them delivering on their promises on things like speed,” the former employee wrote.
“Their system is also designed to troubleshoot modem issues within that geographic area and not others. If an agent enters the actual address of the person who is having issues with the device, the troubleshooting process will stop and the representative will not be allowed to continue troubleshooting,” they continued.
Verizon has previously addressed the issue, but only sent emails to customers who violated its service address rules, advising them to update their service addresses to “avoid any service disruption.” This is the first time Verizon has taken more aggressive action to curb the problem.
Verizon’s move comes after fixed wireless internet speeds for Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile customers declined nationwide during the second and third quarters of 2025, according to a recent report from technology company Ookla.
For Verizon customers in particular, median download speeds dropped from 167.30 Mbps in the first quarter to 137.81 Mbps in the third quarter. Additionally, upload speeds dropped from 15.23 Mbps to 11.40 Mbps during the same time period.
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In its report, Ookla highlighted “network congestion” as a possible reason for slowdowns for fixed wireless internet customers.
“The investment community and others have long been concerned that traffic from FWA users would create congestion and impact performance for mobile and FWA customers because the same 5G spectrum is used to deliver both services,” Ookla editorial director Sue Marek wrote in the report.
Amid this worrying trend, a recent JD Power survey found that Verizon’s fixed wireless Internet service lags behind its major competitors in consumer satisfaction.
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Over the past six months, wireless internet providers have experienced increase by 15% The number of new registered users increased by 6%, while the number of cable Internet providers increased by 6%.
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Comprehensive More satisfied with wireless networksscored 647 out of 1,000 points, while Wired scored 554.
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T-Mobile ranks highest National wireless internet satisfaction score is 663 AT&T Ranked second with 625 points, Verizon with 623.
Source: JD Power
“The Internet landscape is clearly evolving, customer satisfaction continues to rise, and customer service performance in wireless services continues to be strong,” Carl Lepper, senior director of technology, media and telecom intelligence at JD Power, said in a release.
“The high level of satisfaction we see in the wireless internet space is attributed to internet speed, availability and the ability to easily start service, as well as lower prices,” he continued. “In addition, with a greater choice of providers, customers can choose the services that best fit their lifestyles.”
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This article was originally published by TheStreet on December 31, 2025, and first appeared in the Retail section. Click here to add TheStreet as your preferred source.
