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October 2024

Here’s How Much Internet Costs (Then and Now) in the Most Populous States in America

Most households in the U.S. today would consider internet service to be a necessity—and like many household expenses, it's gotten more expensive lately, at least in some areas. At U.S. News & World Report, we’ve been surveying Americans about their Internet Service Provider (ISP) experiences throughout the year. This time, we aimed to get feedback specifically related to costs for consumers living in the most populous states. Here's what we found, starting with some overall takeaways based on responses from across all five states:

Old apartment buildings have some big broadband infrastructure problems

Making broadband available to the masses is no easy task in any environment. But try doing it for people living in decades-old apartment buildings. A majority (82 percent) of multi-dwelling units (MDUs) over 10 years old report internet connectivity challenges, according to a recent study from Comcast’s Xfinity Communities in collaboration with Parks Associates. Issues include maintaining device connections over a Wi-Fi network and insufficient bandwidth, which can be difficult to fix due to the infrastructure of older apartment buildings.

Vermont CUDs figure out broadband without help from incumbents

A group in Vermont got so fed up with the lack of high-speed broadband in small towns and rural areas—and the complete lack of interest by incumbent telephone and cable companies—that it went to the Vermont legislature for permission to create a communications union district (CUD). There are now nine CUDs successfully operating in Vermont, and these groups are poised to garner the lion’s share of Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) awards in the state. The trailblazing CUD was ECFiber, which has been so successful that it doesn’t plan to apply for BEAD funds because it’s already

Defeating the Digital Divide

Building on the Defeating the Digital Divide series, Kids First Chicago presents new findings from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) data, released in December 2023, and makes three key recommendations: 

Kendall County, Illinois, Builds Its Own Fiber Network After Being Snubbed By Monopolies

Frustrated by years of substandard broadband service from regional telecommunications monopolies, Kendall County (IL) residents have joined the growing chorus of Americans that are tackling the problem head on by building their own better, faster, more affordable fiber networks. The Kendall County network, part of a public-private partnership with Pivot-Tech, is being funded by a tax-free revenue bond. Kendall County officials say that the full cost of the network, which will include private investment from Pivot-Tech, is expected to ultimately be $67 million, serving more than 13,000 locat

BBB’s NAD Recommends Comcast Cable Partially Discontinue, Modify Ad Claim

Comcast said it would comply with recommendations from BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD) about its business Internet service ads. The challenge, brought by AT&T, related to the claim that “Comcast Business Internet has speeds up to 12x faster than Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.” The claim was made on television and radio ads, and in direct mail. NAD made two recommendations.

Equity Fact Sheet: How Internet for All Investments Are Reaching Underserved Communities

The Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative addresses the Nation’s digital divide by bringing high-speed Internet availability, device affordability, and digital literacy to left-behind communities. Some of those programs and their impacts:

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