Airtel shifts home broadband focus to fibre as FWA additions fall 57% QoQ
Bharti Airtel is slowing its 5G fixed-wireless access push, citing hardware costs and churn, and prioritising fibre-led broadband growth in major cities. FWA additions fell to 473,000 in the June quarter from 1.1 million in the prior quarter, as Jio continues to scale AirFiber.
Bharti Airtel is curbing 5G fixed wireless broadband expansion because of hardware costs and customer churn, prioritising fibre in major cities. Its June-quarter broadband additions slowed sharply, while Reliance Jio continued expanding AirFiber; Airtel reported strong Q1FY27 revenue and profit growth.
Why this matters
The fibre shift follows Airtel’s Q1 FY27 revenue growth of 18.4%, profit of ₹8,867 crore and mobile ARPU reaching ₹264, indicating a focus on higher-quality broadband growth alongside mobile monetisation.
Retail-company signals are accelerating, up 183063% QoQ.
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