Wall Street Journal: Broadband Internet Bill Too High? Here’s How You Can Fix That

Wall Street Journal: Broadband Internet Bill Too High? Here’s How You Can Fix That

“The ability for consumers to actually get lower prices or take action is somewhat limited at the moment,” said Yosef Getachew, media and democracy director at Common Cause, a government watchdog group. One effective solution, he says, is municipal networks—publicly owned fiber-optic networks deployed by local governments—such as the one Mx. Cadena is awaiting. “Service providers aren’t investing in areas that aren’t profitable to them. And there are cases where muni networks come in, and then the incumbent lowers their prices,” said Mr. Getachew. However, 20 states restrict or prohibit these networks, on the grounds that government-run broadband discourages private investment.

Kim Cadena was shocked at the internet bill that arrived on July 21: The price jumped from $50 to $81 a month, for the same 100-megabit-per-second plan. Mx. Cadena (who uses the gender-neutral honorific) has been a Comcast Xfinity customer for two years. The service started with a promotional $30-a-month rate, then increased to $50 the second year. Now, it’s gone up again. …
Our billing struggles are a symptom of a larger issue. Policy experts point to a lack of competition among broadband providers, which has led to higher prices, lower quality and unequal access. …

AT&T and Verizon declined to comment directly, and instead pointed me to a representative at USTelecom, an industry trade group. The USTelecom spokesman, citing the group’s recent study on broadband pricing trends, said, “The data shows a decline in prices and an overall increase in broadband speeds in recent years.”

But groups advocating for antitrust enforcement of internet services disagree. Americans pay the highest monthly price for broadband service—$68.23 in the U.S. on average, compared with $44.71 in Europe and $62.41 in Asia—according to a pricing study by New America’s Open Technology Institute, a center-left Washington think tank that studies the impact of new technologies on society. That research also found that after promotional rates expire, monthly prices increase by $22.25 on average, and consolidation in the market means many Americans have only one or two broadband providers to choose from.

“The ability for consumers to actually get lower prices or take action is somewhat limited at the moment,” said Yosef Getachew, media and democracy director at Common Cause, a government watchdog group.

One effective solution, he says, is municipal networks—publicly owned fiber-optic networks deployed by local governments—such as the one Mx. Cadena is awaiting. “Service providers aren’t investing in areas that aren’t profitable to them. And there are cases where muni networks come in, and then the incumbent lowers their prices,” said Mr. Getachew. However, 20 states restrict or prohibit these networks, on the grounds that government-run broadband discourages private investment.