Since the Telecommunications Act of 1996, U.S. policy has bet on competition to deliver lower prices, better service, and more innovation in the communications marketplace. One way to know if that bet is paying off for consumers is to look at who actually has choices—and who doesn't. And that is exactly what Congress has required the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to do.

In the last quarter of every even-numbered year, the FCC must publish a Communications Marketplace Report that assesses the state of competition among all types of communications providers—from traditional telephone and cable companies to satellite and internet service providers (ISPs). The Communications Marketplace Report is a key tool for Congress and the FCC to track digital divides, analyze telecommunications affordability, and inform regulatory decisions.

The FCC must consider all forms of competition, including competition across technologies, competition between companies that each build and own their own network, and competition from new and emergent communications services. The FCC must also ask whether the rules of the road—government regulations or industry behavior—are keeping competition from taking hold.

Consumers access fixed broadband services through a variety of technologies, including cable, fiber-to-the-premises, and terrestrial fixed wireless. These technologies differ in terms of price, speed, and latency (the time it takes data to travel, which has a big impact on the quality of video calls, gaming, and other applications). 

In a Public Notice released on April 6, the FCC's Office of Economics and Analytics seeks public input to inform the FCC’s required assessment of the state of competition in the communications marketplace in its upcoming Communications Marketplace Report to Congress. Specifically, the FCC seeks data, information, and comment on a wide range of issues relevant to the state of competition in the communications marketplace as a whole.

What Did the FCC Find in 2024?

In the 2024 Communications Marketplace Report, the FCC found that, given a choice, most consumers subscribe to technologies that are capable of providing faster speeds. As of December 2023, approximately 66 percent of households had at least two options for services meeting at least a 100 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 20 Mbps upload speed threshold, and approximately 7 percent of households had at least two options for services meeting at least a 940/500 Mbps speed threshold. FCC data showed that generally, prices increase as broadband speeds increase, regardless of the technology used to connect a network to a consumer's home or business.

FCC data indicated a direct relationship between price and download speed—as advertised download speeds increase, so do advertised prices. The least expensive internet-only plan in 2023 was $30 per month for download speeds up to 100 Mbps, offered by both Cox and Charter, while the most expensive internet-only plan was offered by Frontier at $300 per month for download speeds of approximately 7 gigabits per second (Gbps).

In that report, the FCC found that for services meeting a minimum 100/20 Mbps speed threshold, data suggested improvements in the percentage of households with at least two provider options. However, there was a significant difference in the percentage of households with at least two provider options between urban and rural areas, and between urban and Tribal areas. While approximately 75 percent of urban households had at least two provider options for 100/20 Mbps service, only approximately 35 percent of rural households and 49 percent of Tribal households had at least two options for this service tier. For services meeting a 940/500 Mbps threshold, approximately 9 percent of households in urban areas had at least two options, compared to approximately 3 percent in rural areas and 5 percent in Tribal areas. 

In a March 2025 study, Broadbandnow found that consumers in areas with fewer internet providers tend to pay higher prices. The Broadbandnow findings suggest the problem isn't isolated—it's baked into the market structure, and rural and underserved communities pay the price.

What Input Does the FCC Want for the 2026 Report?

The FCC is inviting commenters to submit data and information on among other things:

• Trends in connectivity gaps in service availability, speeds, and quality across rural, urban, and Tribal areas.
• Price levels and trends, as well as trends in service offerings.
• The extent of competition between fixed broadband providers and the degree to which consumers consider these services as substitutes.
• Network quality, performance, and speeds, including lag and outages.
• The role of entry conditions (federal, state, and/or local) in fixed broadband services, including for entrepreneurs and other small businesses.

People who work with community members on digital skills, help them find low-cost internet plans, or assist them in navigating the broadband market have firsthand knowledge of what competition—or its absence—looks like in practice. That kind of on-the-ground experience is exactly what this proceeding needs.

Don't Forget Mobile

Smartphone ownership among U.S. adults is nearly universal. And one in six American adults has no home broadband subscription at all—their smartphone is their only gateway to the internet. Smartphone-only internet users are disproportionately Americans with lower incomes and less formal education.

Similar to fixed broadband services (and for many of the same reasons), for mobile services, the FCC is seeking data and information on:

• Measurements of mobile coverage, nationwide and broken down by urban, rural, and Tribal areas.
• Trends in connectivity gaps in service availability, speed, and quality across geographic areas.
• Price levels and trends, as well as trends in service offerings.
• Network quality, performance, and speeds of service.
• The role of entry conditions (federal, state, and/or local) in mobile wireless competition, including for entrepreneurs and other small businesses.

Cross-Platform Competition

The FCC notes that as technology has evolved, certain aspects of what were once separate markets for phone, internet, and video are increasingly competing with each other.

Cross-platform competition occurs when fundamentally different technologies compete for the same customers to provide similar services. AT&T and T-Mobile compete with each other, but both also compete with cable companies, which may now offer wireless service, and with satellite internet access providers like Starlink. A question for the FCC to address in this proceeding is whether that kind of competition across technologies is real and robust enough to protect consumers, or whether it's more limited than it appears.

Commenters are invited to submit data and information on:

• The extent of competition between mobile and fixed providers of voice, broadband, and video services.
• Whether consumers view mobile and fixed broadband as substitutes or complements — that is, are people replacing their home internet with a mobile plan, or using both?
• Patterns of consumer switching between mobile and fixed providers.

International Broadband Data

By law, the FCC must benchmark U.S. broadband against at least 75 comparable communities in 25 or more countries — comparing speeds, prices, and availability across communities similar to American cities and towns in size, density, and demographics. The goal is to understand how the U.S. stacks up internationally, and why.

The FCC is inviting data and information submissions on international fixed and mobile broadband:

• Speeds and quality of service.
• Pricing.
• Service availability, broken down by technology.

Conclusion

The FCC proceeding is open to anyone who wants to share their experience with broadband availability, pricing, and competition—or the lack of it. 

You don't need to be a lawyer or a data analyst to comment—your experience working with real people navigating real choices is evidence, too. The FCC requests that commenters submit information, data, and statistics for 2024 and 2025, as well as information on any notable trends and developments that have occurred during early 2026.

For more details on the FCC proceeding and instructions on filing your input, see the Public Notice at Office of Economics and Analytics Seeks Comment on The State of Competition in the Communications Marketplace.

Comments in the proceeding are due Thursday, May 22. Reply comments are due June 22. The FCC's report is expected to be released late in 2026.

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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