Difference between Fixed Wireless Internet and Internet Air

Thank you!

Thanks!

I have been receiving promotional material to move from Fixed Wireless to Internet Air. Will my speeds be the same? Better? Worse? We stream some sports and movies currently with no Issues onmFixed Wireless.

I would also like to find more details or advantages to upgrading.  I checked for availability in my rural area and I was surprised to see I was good to go.

I currently have fixed wireless and the only issue I have is using up too much data if I watch streaming or too many video websites, and also if snow/ice covers the receiver from the phone tower the Wifi doesn't work.

ATT Fixed Wireless was intended as a replacement in select areas (18 states, 1.1 million locations)  of legacy DSL (150G data cap, $10/50G overage up to $200 per month) where ATT accepted CAFII funding from government in 2014. First state was Georgia and used installed antenna pointed at assigned tower for 4G LTE using band 30 only. 
To my knowledge installs and maintenance where / are provided by DirecTv contractors. Over the past several years the data cap offered on Fixed Wireless has varied, initial was 170G with $10/50G with max $100 monthly overage and changed to 250G then doubled to 500G then lowered to 350G depending on when you were installed would determine what cap you have. The gateway is a software modified Pace 5268 with CGNAT, last I saw Fixed Wireless was $70 per month.

ATT AIR is Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is using 5G cellular from local tower using same bands as cell phones, no antenna required, no on site tech support… you are responsible for unboxing, determining best placement, etc same as hotspot. The monthly cost is $60, $5 discount with autopay/paperless billing for $55 a month. Unlimited data, no overage charges, and a special gateway hub instead of modified Uverse (ATT Internet) equipment. ATT AIR is offered in many areas and will be offered in more, both in and out of hardwired 21 states footprint. Basically anyplace ATT cell phone service is offered could be ATT AIR provided excess capacity is available as towers have limited capability.

In short ATT AIR is not limited to only rural markets, not funded by government CAFII to provide coverage, self installation, lower monthly cost, no data cap with 5G service offering faster download/upload than possible on 4G LTE.

I have went Air from my Fixed Wireless and have not regretted it all. No problems with speeds na like other on Fixed wireless I would go over some times even being mindful of Data usage. I thinks its a win with the unlimited data.

I've been getting weekly mails/emails telling me to switch. I'm tempted because of the faster speeds, but I don't really want to pay an additional $15/month plus taxes for it.

Long story short, I'm currently using Fixed Wireless as a backup for Starlink since I had some needs and desires that Fixed Wireless fell short on, mainly speed and reliability and the ability to directly access my personal server when I'm not home (Starlink allows it via IPv6). Aside from the speeds, I don't have much faith that Air would be any improvement in that respect. As long as I'm using it as a backup, speed is secondary to price.

I noticed this in the fine print:

Internet Air Offer: Subj. to change and may be discontinued at any time. Existing eligible AT&T Internet (including Fixed Wireless) customers on plans (768k to 100) can switch to AT&T Internet Air for the same monthly rate or less than their current internet plan.

Does anyone have experience with that offer? I'm concerned that it won't stick and I'll be paying the higher rate in 12 months or so. I can't just go back to Fixed Wireless if that happens because they don't offer it any more. That's partly why I kept it after getting Starlink.

ATT AIR *$60 before discount is less expensive than list price of Fixed Wireless ($70). So not $15 more expensive, and even greater savings if exceed data cap of fixed wireless.

Note depending on when fixed wireless was installed data cap could be 170G (original), 250G, 350G, 500G (when company offered limited time double 250). The 350G is basically double 170.

I'm paying $40.  It was originally $50 when I got it in early 2019 and for some reason they reduced it to $40 in mid-2022 with a note that it's a $10 credit for performance issues they've been having and it's been like that ever since, with a few random months where they billed $30 or $50. However, the worst issue I've had, ~18% continuous packet loss for about a year, was resolved in late 2020.

My current data cap is 350GB, up from I think 150GB when I signed up. I recall going a little over it once and they did nothing about it, no warning or throttling or fee. I wouldn't have known if I didn't happen to look at the usage.

I found this video which goes over all the gateway settings and I'm impressed. It looks like Air allows all the same flexibility as Uverse (what my parents have) including public IPv4. If that holds true and performance is as good as advertised, I would be fine paying the full price and would likely get rid of the very pricey Starlink or at least suspend service but keep the hardware as backup.