Fixed wireless/mobile convergence has become one of the broadband industry’s defining strategies, and a new report from Opensignal put numbers behind what that experience looks like for subscribers.
The company’s inaugural USA Converged Experience Report, published yesterday and based on data collected from January through March 2026, examines the combined fixed and mobile connectivity experience of customers who buy both services from the same provider.
Opensignal tracked five providers — AT&T, Charter’s Spectrum, Comcast’s Xfinity, T-Mobile, and Verizon — and measured what it calls “combined experience,” which reflects performance across both cellular and Wi-Fi connections. The methodology reflected real-world usage: Subscribers in the convergence report spent an average of more than 65% of their time on Wi-Fi.
Xfinity topped the overall leaderboard in two of three categories. The Comcast subsidiary led in consistent quality — a metric that measured how reliably a network supports HD video, group video calls, and gaming — with a combined score of 83.9%, less than a percentage point ahead of Verizon. Xfinity also won for combined download speed at 247.1 Mbps, narrowly ahead of Spectrum at 240.1 Mbps and AT&T at 233.3 Mbps.
AT&T stood out in upload speeds, posting a combined upload speed of 109.0 Mbps, which was more than double second-place Verizon’s 48.0 Mbps. The convergence report notes that the gap is largely attributable to AT&T’s fiber network, where subscribers logged upload speeds of 161.2 Mbps.
Fixed wireless access (FWA) performed surprisingly well on the consistent quality metric. T-Mobile’s FWA offering scored 81.1%, less than half a percentage point behind Spectrum’s cable subscribers at 81.3%.
However, the gap widened considerably in speed metrics, where cable and fiber subscribers held a clear advantage. T-Mobile FWA converged subscribers saw download speeds of 199.7 Mbps, compared to 243.5 Mbps for Spectrum cable and 290.6 Mbps for AT&T fiber.
The report frames convergence as both an offensive and defensive strategy. It notes that U.S. mobile subscriptions grew just over 2% through 2025, while broadband penetration has topped 90% of occupied households — leaving providers to compete primarily on retention.
That dynamic is playing out in the market in real time. Recent offers from AT&T and Mint Mobile have bundled wireless and home internet into single plans at simplified price points, reflecting exactly the kind of convergence strategy the Opensignal report describes.
Major infrastructure acquisitions are accelerating the trend as well — Verizon’s purchase of Frontier and AT&T’s acquisition of Lumen fiber assets last year are driving convergence strategy, and last year’s Verizon-Eaton fiber deal reflects similar logic.
Opensignal notes that none of the recent acquisitions were included in its convergence report, so the competitive picture may shift as those networks are integrated.
