Analysis of the Federal Communications Commission’s Urban Rate Survey data from 2020 to 2025 shows that:

• Broadband service offerings at the highest speeds are expensive, growing in prevalence, and driving up average broadband prices.
  • For plans with download speeds of 2 Gigabits per second or more, the average price was $179 per month, more than twice what URS found that plans between 100 Megabits per second and 1 Gbps cost.
  • The average price across all broadband plan offerings grew by 4.8 percent in inflation-adjusted terms from 2024 to 2025.
  • Very high-speed (i.e., 2 Gbps or higher download) plans now make up 16 percent of the 2025 URS sample, nearly double the figure from 2024 (9 percent).
  • Fiber plans are also far more common in the 2025 URS than a few years ago, now making up 47 percent of the sample compared with 23 percent in 2022.
  • Fiber-optic home broadband plans have seen price increases in real terms—by 12.8 percent in 2025 compared to the prior year and 40.1 percent since 2020.
  • Inflation overall increased by 25.1 percent between 2020 and 2025.
• Prices for mid-tier plans (i.e., those with download speeds between 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps) declined 8.5 percent in real terms between 2024 and 2025 and 28.9 percent since 2020.
• Lower tier plans also witnessed price declines. For services with download speeds of 100 Mbps or less, prices fell by 13.4 percent from 2024 to 2025 and 15.0 percent since 2020.
• Fixed-wireless service—potentially an attractive option for those on a budget—saw price declines of 20.0 percent from 2024 to 2025 and 50.7 percent since 2020.
• There are far fewer low-cost plans available than in the recent past, according to URS data.
  • When the Affordable Connectivity Program was in operation, 9 percent of all service offerings captured in the URS were $30 per month or less. That figure fell to just 3 percent in the data for 2025.
  • Similarly, slower speed (and less expensive) plans became less common. Plans with speeds of 100 Mbps or less were 32 percent of the 2025 sample, down from 57 percent in 2022. 

President Trump's embrace of artificial intelligence (AI) could be a political gift to Democrats. Instead, it's exposing a major split in the party. As the tech industry aligns with the White House, Democrats are weighing whether to lean into a populist message aimed at protecting workers, challenging tech billionaires and pushing back on data centers—or embrace a more innovation-friendly approach. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is facing backlash in a letter from advocacy groups that say the leaders of a new House Democratic AI policy commission have deep ties to Big Tech. The co-chairs include Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), and Valerie Foushee (D-NC), who recently met with Rep Jeffries for the first time. "Going into the 2026 midterms, Democrats can and must present a vision for AI policy that breaks with President Trump's deregulatory vision," the Jan. 8 letter to Jeffries states. 11 groups signed the letter, including the Revolving Door Project, Center for Digital Democracy, and the Climate and Community Institute. An adviser to a House progressive told Maria that many Hill Democrats see AI and affordability as winning issues.