How far 5G home internet reaches, and where it is the only fast option
Licensed fixed wireless, the FCC category that holds 5G home internet, is reported at 87.3% of US homes and businesses as of June 30, 2026. Its role as a gap filler is far smaller: at 3.6%1 of locations, fixed wireless is the only land-based way to get 100/20 Mbps. Those places are mostly rural, concentrated in the Mountain West, Alaska, Mississippi and Missouri, and they split into two kinds that federal rules treat very differently.
Published November 13, 2026. Data: FCC National Broadband Map, availability as of June 30, 2026 (file revision of November 10, 2026); NTIA, BEAD Final Proposal summaries.
Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file cb_2025_us_state_20m. Darker states have larger gaps; DC is the dot. FCC file revision of November 10, 2026. Shares are of broadband serviceable locations (homes and businesses), not people.
Show the numbers
| State | Fixed wireless only at 100/20 |
|---|---|
| Wyoming | 15.5% |
| Idaho | 13.2% |
| Alaska | 11.6% |
| Mississippi | 11.1% |
| New Mexico | 10.4% |
| Missouri | 10.0% |
| Montana | 9.8% |
| Oklahoma | 9.7% |
| Arizona | 8.5% |
| Kansas | 6.9% |
| Nebraska | 6.7% |
| Texas | 6.6% |
| Colorado | 6.3% |
| Iowa | 6.2% |
| Wisconsin | 5.6% |
| Nevada | 5.6% |
| Illinois | 5.5% |
| Minnesota | 4.5% |
| Indiana | 4.2% |
| California | 4.0% |
| Utah | 3.9% |
| Washington | 3.7% |
| Ohio | 3.3% |
| Oregon | 3.3% |
| Michigan | 2.9% |
| Arkansas | 2.6% |
| Louisiana | 2.0% |
| West Virginia | 1.9% |
| Vermont | 1.8% |
| Kentucky | 1.7% |
| Pennsylvania | 1.7% |
| Virginia | 1.5% |
| Alabama | 1.5% |
| South Dakota | 1.3% |
| Florida | 0.9% |
| North Carolina | 0.8% |
| Delaware | 0.8% |
| New York | 0.7% |
| Georgia | 0.7% |
| Maryland | 0.6% |
| Maine | 0.6% |
| New Hampshire | 0.6% |
| Rhode Island | 0.5% |
| Tennessee | 0.5% |
| North Dakota | 0.5% |
| South Carolina | 0.5% |
| New Jersey | 0.3% |
| Connecticut | 0.2% |
| Hawaii | 0.1% |
| Massachusetts | 0.1% |
| District of Columbia | 0.0% |
Some provider reports licensed fixed wireless, which includes the 5G and LTE home internet plans of T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T, at 87.3% of the 115.8 million locations on the FCC's National Broadband Map, as of June 30, 2026 (file revision of November 10, 2026). At 47.9% it is advertised at 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload or faster. But most of those locations also have a cable, fiber or DSL line at that speed. The places where wireless is the only land-based route to 100/20 are a much smaller set: 4.2 million locations, 3.6%1 of the country.
This page is about that smaller set. It counts fixed wireless of both kinds, licensed and unlicensed, because the FCC data record a location as having 100/20 by fixed wireless whichever spectrum carries it. Which kind it is turns out to matter.
What fixed wireless adds to the 100/20 map
Wired service at 100/20 Mbps is reported at 92.3% of US locations. Adding fixed wireless raises the share with any land-based 100/20 offer to 95.8%. Put the other way, 7.8% of locations have no wired provider at 100/20, and 4.2%1 have no land-based provider of any kind at that speed. Fixed wireless closes roughly half of the wired gap. The rest have only slower land-based service, or satellite, which this site leaves out of coverage figures.
"Available" here means a provider told the FCC it offers service at the location and could install it within ten business days. Every speed is the fastest the provider advertises there, and anyone can challenge a listing on the map.
Wyoming, Idaho and Alaska lead; the Northeast barely registers
The share of locations where 100/20 comes only by fixed wireless is highest in Wyoming, at 15.5%, then Idaho (13.2%) and Alaska (11.6%). Mississippi (11.1%), New Mexico (10.4%), Missouri (10.0%) and Montana (9.8%) follow. Texas has the most such locations in absolute terms, 682,038, although they are only 6.6%1 of its total.
Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026. FCC file revision of November 10, 2026. Shares are of broadband serviceable locations (homes and businesses), not people.
Show the numbers
| State | Fixed wireless only at 100/20 |
|---|---|
| Wyoming | 15.5% |
| Idaho | 13.2% |
| Alaska | 11.6% |
| Mississippi | 11.1% |
| New Mexico | 10.4% |
| Missouri | 10.0% |
| Montana | 9.8% |
| Oklahoma | 9.7% |
| Arizona | 8.5% |
| Kansas | 6.9% |
| Nebraska | 6.7% |
| Texas | 6.6% |
| Colorado | 6.3% |
| Iowa | 6.2% |
| Wisconsin | 5.6% |
| Nevada | 5.6% |
| Illinois | 5.5% |
| Minnesota | 4.5% |
| Indiana | 4.2% |
| California | 4.0% |
| United States | 3.6% |
At the other end, the share is 0.2% in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey, where wired 100/20 service already reaches 98.7%, 99.1% and 98.7%1 of locations. There is little left for wireless to fill.
Licensed or unlicensed: why the difference counts
The FCC map does not say whether a network is 5G. It records the spectrum: licensed (technology codes 71 and 72, where the national carriers file their home internet) or unlicensed (technology code 70), used mostly by local wireless internet companies. The federal BEAD program draws its line on the same distinction. Its 2022 Notice of Funding Opportunity defines reliable broadband as fiber, cable, DSL or "terrestrial fixed wireless technology utilizing entirely licensed spectrum or using a hybrid of licensed and unlicensed spectrum". A location reached at 100/20 only by unlicensed wireless therefore stays unserved or underserved for BEAD, however fast the advertised plan.
The states at the top of the chart show both patterns. In Mississippi, unlicensed fixed wireless is reported at only 0.9% of locations, and just 1.1% are unserved under the BEAD definition. In Wyoming and Idaho, unlicensed networks reach 60.6% and 68.4% of locations, and the unserved shares are 9.2% and 7.7%1.
Counties where most locations depend on it
At the county level, fixed wireless is the only 100/20 route at a majority of locations in dozens of counties. The 20 highest are below.
Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026. FCC file revision of November 10, 2026. Shares are of broadband serviceable locations (homes and businesses), not people.
Show the numbers
| County | Fixed wireless only at 100/20 |
|---|---|
| Eureka County, Nevada | 92.0% |
| Shannon County, Missouri | 79.0% |
| Osage County, Missouri | 78.4% |
| Alexander County, Illinois | 75.5% |
| Maries County, Missouri | 75.3% |
| Simpson County, Mississippi | 74.7% |
| Goliad County, Texas | 71.3% |
| Jefferson County, Mississippi | 69.3% |
| White Pine County, Nevada | 67.8% |
| Rich County, Utah | 67.0% |
| Issaquena County, Mississippi | 66.7% |
| Upton County, Texas | 66.7% |
| Love County, Oklahoma | 66.2% |
| Rio Arriba County, New Mexico | 66.0% |
| Wright County, Missouri | 64.5% |
| Storey County, Nevada | 64.4% |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska | 62.9% |
| Washington County, Colorado | 62.2% |
| Boundary County, Idaho | 62.1% |
| Pershing County, Nevada | 60.5% |
| United States | 3.6% |
Three of them show the range:
- Simpson County, Mississippi. Wired 100/20 service reaches 24.1% of its 12,707 locations, yet only 0.8% are unserved. The largest provider, C Spire, reports fiber and DSL and licensed fixed wireless and offers 100/20 at 98.7% of locations, so at most of them its 100/20 offer is licensed wireless. That counts as served.
- Shannon County, Missouri. Fixed wireless is the only 100/20 route at 79.0% of locations, a share close to Simpson's 74.7%, but the main provider behind it, Wave Internet Technologies LLC, uses unlicensed fixed wireless. It reports 100/20 at 100.0% of locations, and 54.6% of the county is still unserved under the BEAD rules. T-Mobile reports licensed fixed wireless at 41.0% of locations, at 100/20 at 15.8%.
- Eureka County, Nevada. Wired 100/20 service reaches 0.0% of its 1,172 locations. Hot Spot Broadband Inc, an unlicensed fixed wireless provider, reports 100/20 at 91.9%; licensed fixed wireless appears at only 3.7%, and 97.7%1 of locations are unserved.
| Area | Fixed wireless only at 100/20 | Licensed fixed wireless | Unlicensed fixed wireless | Wired 100/20 Mbps | Unserved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simpson County, Mississippi | 74.7% | 97.4% | 0.0% | 24.1% | 0.8% |
| Shannon County, Missouri | 79.0% | 55.1% | 100.0% | 21.0% | 54.6% |
| Eureka County, Nevada | 92.0% | 3.7% | 91.9% | 0.0% | 97.7% |
| Goliad County, Texas | 71.3% | 97.9% | 5.2% | 26.2% | 1.7% |
| Rio Arriba County, New Mexico | 66.0% | 82.8% | 50.3% | 19.8% | 8.9% |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska | 62.9% | 85.6% | 29.6% | 28.8% | 5.9% |
| United States | 3.6% | 87.3% | 19.7% | 92.3% | 2.4% |
Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026. FCC file revision of November 10, 2026. Shares are of broadband serviceable locations (homes and businesses), not people.
Goliad County, Texas, looks like Simpson (licensed wireless, few unserved locations); Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, and the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, mix both kinds.
Large cities are almost untouched
Among the 343 largest US cities, Anchorage has the highest share of locations where 100/20 comes only by fixed wireless, and it is 2.8%, or 2,220 locations. Even there, wired 100/20 service reaches 96.0%1 of locations. In the large cities 5G home internet is an alternative to a cable or fiber line, not a replacement for a missing one; the gap-filling role is a rural one.
Mississippi grew fastest; Virginia went the other way
Nationally the share rose from 2.6% in June 2022 to 3.6% in June 2026, and it fell 0.1 percentage points in the six months since December 31, 2025. The states moved much more. Mississippi went from 0.4%2 to 11.1%, +10.7 percentage points, with 3.2 percentage points of that in the latest six months. New Mexico (+7.9 percentage points) and Montana (+6.3 percentage points1) also rose sharply.
Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026. FCC file revision of November 10, 2026. Shares are of broadband serviceable locations (homes and businesses), not people.
Show the numbers
| State | Fixed wireless only at 100/20: change since June 30, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Mississippi | 10.7 pts |
| New Mexico | 7.9 pts |
| Idaho | 7.0 pts |
| Montana | 6.3 pts |
| Arizona | 5.0 pts |
| Missouri | 4.7 pts |
| Alaska | 4.0 pts |
| Wisconsin | 3.5 pts |
| Washington | 3.1 pts |
| Oklahoma | 2.7 pts |
| Illinois | 2.5 pts |
| Colorado | 1.9 pts |
| Indiana | 1.7 pts |
| Nevada | 1.7 pts |
| Kansas | 1.6 pts |
| Ohio | 1.6 pts |
| Vermont | 1.5 pts |
| West Virginia | 1.4 pts |
| Arkansas | 1.3 pts |
| Pennsylvania | 1.2 pts |
| Louisiana | 1.2 pts |
| Kentucky | 1.1 pts |
| United States | 1.0 pts |
| Oregon | 1.0 pts |
| Iowa | 0.8 pts |
| Wyoming | 0.7 pts |
| Alabama | 0.5 pts |
| Rhode Island | 0.5 pts |
| Florida | 0.5 pts |
| Utah | 0.5 pts |
| North Carolina | 0.4 pts |
| New York | 0.4 pts |
| Maine | 0.3 pts |
| Delaware | 0.3 pts |
| New Hampshire | 0.3 pts |
| California | 0.3 pts |
| Tennessee | 0.2 pts |
| New Jersey | 0.2 pts |
| South Carolina | 0.1 pts |
| Maryland | 0.1 pts |
| Michigan | 0.1 pts |
| Connecticut | 0.1 pts |
| Massachusetts | 0.0 pts |
| Hawaii | −0.1 pts |
| Georgia | −0.1 pts |
| Nebraska | −0.2 pts |
| District of Columbia | −0.4 pts |
| Texas | −0.5 pts |
| South Dakota | −1.0 pts |
| Minnesota | −1.0 pts |
| North Dakota | −1.3 pts |
| Virginia | −3.0 pts |
The share can fall for two opposite reasons: a wired network arrives, or a wireless listing at 100/20 is withdrawn or downgraded. Virginia's fell 3.0 percentage points while its wired 100/20 share rose 7.7 percentage points; Minnesota's fell 1.0 percentage points1. The FCC files record what changed on the map, not why.
What the BEAD plans add
States' BEAD final proposals assign 499,177 of their 3,772,113 locations to fixed wireless, against 2,368,238 to fiber and 829,696 to low-Earth-orbit satellite. BEAD money goes only to unserved and underserved locations, which by definition lack reliable 100/20 service, wired or licensed wireless, so the plans and today's map describe different locations. The share varies widely by state. Kansas assigns 67.5% of its locations to fixed wireless and Nebraska 56.9%, though fewer than one in ten of their locations depend on wireless for 100/20 today (6.9% and 6.7%). New York assigns 44.5%, where today's share is 0.7%. Mississippi, 4th highest1 on today's map, assigns 0.0%3.
| Kansas | 67.5% | 17,954 | 6.9% | 2.0% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | 56.9% | 8,002 | 6.7% | 2.9% |
| New York | 44.5% | 23,576 | 0.7% | 1.3% |
| New Mexico | 42.9% | 18,297 | 10.4% | 4.2% |
| Iowa | 39.6% | 14,910 | 6.2% | 2.2% |
| Washington | 38.2% | 63,655 | 3.7% | 5.3% |
| Wyoming | 25.8% | 9,939 | 15.5% | 9.2% |
| Idaho | 24.8% | 22,657 | 13.2% | 7.7% |
| Mississippi | 0.0% | 0 | 11.1% | 1.1% |
| Missouri | 5.6% | 11,494 | 10.0% | 3.6% |
Source: NTIA BroadbandUSA, BEAD Final Proposal Overview one-page PDFs; FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026.
Reading any 5G coverage figure
Three numbers describe the same technology: where it is reported at all (87.3%), where it is reported at 100/20 (47.9%), and where wireless is the only 100/20 option (3.6%1). A page that quotes one without saying which, and without an FCC as-of date, cannot be compared with another. The 5G home internet guide covers the carriers and their footprints, and the state ranking orders the states on the first two measures. For a single address, the FCC National Broadband Map lists who reports service there; prices and plan terms are on each provider's broadband facts label.
Questions about 5G home internet as a gap filler
Is 5G home internet available in my area?
Area shares cannot answer that for one address. The FCC's National Broadband Map lists every provider that reports service at an address, with its technology and fastest advertised speeds. Ask the provider to confirm before relying on it.
Does 5G home internet count as broadband?
Under the BEAD program's rules, fixed wireless on licensed spectrum counts as reliable service, so a location with it at 100/20 Mbps and low latency is served. Fixed wireless on unlicensed spectrum does not count, whatever its advertised speed. Nationally, 96.0%1 of locations are served under that definition as of June 30, 2026.
How many homes and businesses can get 100/20 Mbps only by fixed wireless?
4,155,726 locations, or 3.6%1 of the US total, as of June 30, 2026. These are homes and businesses, not households, where no cable, fiber or DSL provider reports 100/20 Mbps but a fixed wireless provider does.
Sources
- FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026; Availability as of June 30, 2026; released November 10, 2026. broadbandmap.fcc.gov
- FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2022; Availability as of June 30, 2022; released May 10, 2024. broadbandmap.fcc.gov
- NTIA BroadbandUSA, BEAD Final Proposal Overview one-page PDFs. broadbandusa.ntia.gov
- Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file cb_2025_us_state_20m. www2.census.gov
How every figure is built: methodology. Found an error? Write to [email protected]; corrections are listed on the updates page.