2026 Urban Rate Survey and Minimum Usage Allowance for Eligible Telecommunications Carriers

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics released results of the 2026 Urban Rate Survey for fixed voice and broadband services, posting of survey data and explanatory notes, and required minimum usage allowance for Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETCs). Recipients of high-cost and/or Connect America Fund support that are subject to broadband performance obligations are required to offer broadband service at rates that are at or below the relevant reasonable comparability benchmark. Carriers subject to the Alaska Plan and Alaska Communication Systems are required to meet Alaska-specific benchmarks7 and certify that they are meeting the relevant reasonable comparability benchmark for their broadband service offering in the FCC Form 481 filed no later than July 1, 2027. ETCs subject to broadband public interest obligations must provide broadband with usage allowances reasonably comparable to those available through comparable offerings in urban areas. The FCC adopted a minimum monthly usage allowance of 800 GB for 2026. However, the minimum usage allowance for carriers receiving support from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) is either (i) the greater of 250 GB or the average usage calculated by the Bureau for the Minimum and Baseline tiers, or (ii) 2 Terabytes (TB) for the Above-Baseline and Gigabit tiers

Based on the survey results, the 2026 urban average monthly rate is $33.99; therefore the reasonable comparability benchmark for voice services, two standard deviations above the urban average, is $61.29. Under the FCC’s rules, each ETC, including competitive ETCs providing fixed voice services, must certify in the FCC Form 481 filed no later than July 1, 2027, that the pricing of its basic residential voice services is no more than $61.29.