Broadband Grants and Affordable Rates

One of the things that I don’t hear discussed enough is that some of the internet service providers (ISP) chasing rural broadband grants have high broadband rates. I’m curious how much emphasis State Broadband offices will put on the retail rates of grant applicants when evaluating grant winners. The two most easily identified ISPs with high broadband rates are Charter and Comcast. Charter rates for standalone basic broadband are now over $90 in many markets, and Comcast is nearing $100 per month. Both ISPs don’t give any indication that they are going to slow down with annual rate increases. In fact, now that broadband customer growth has slowed, rate increases are the best path for these companies to satisfy Wall Street expectations. But these two companies aren’t the only expensive ISPs that are winning grants. Any other big cable companies that will be pursuing grant funding have rates similar to Charter and Comcast. We already know that the high broadband rates of the cable companies in cities are a major factor in the growth of broadband deserts where many households can’t afford broadband. Numerous studies have shown a direct correlation between household income and broadband adoption – high rates make it harder to afford broadband. A  lot of ISPs participate in the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) plan that gives low-income subscribers a $30 monthly discount. But the funding for that program will be gone around the end of the first quarter of 2024, and it’s anybody’s guess if a divided Congress will approve the continuation of a low-income program. What is not being discussed enough is that most of the ISPs that participate in ACP or have their own low-income plan don’t aggressively push saving to low-income households.