More for Less: Broadband Price and Quality Trends, 2020–2026

The Federal Communications Commission collects annual data on broadband prices through its Urban Rate Survey, covering a wide range of speed tiers and providers across urban markets. In the right analytical hands, the data offer an opportunity to track broadband prices over time. Yet, price is only one measure of market performance. Experience indicates that the quality of broadband service—typically measured by download speeds—consistently improves over time. Over the years, many Americans have experienced a dramatic upgrade in speeds (hundreds of megabits per second in some cases) without any compensating price adjustment, thereby substantially reducing quality-adjusted prices. Market performance, therefore, involves some mix of price and quality changes over time. A meaningful assessment of broadband prices or “affordability,” therefore, requires examining both dimensions together. A service that costs the same today as it did six years ago but delivers ten times the speed is not evidence of market stagnation but of market improvement. Conversely, a rising average price which reflects consumers purchasing faster services rather than paying more for the same service is not evidence of a worsening affordability problem.