High-speed internet service may be poised for a price hike

US broadband service, already slower and more expensive than in many other countries, could get even pricier. That's because major internet providers such as AT&T and Verizon want the Federal Communications Commission to scrap a key provision that some say helps keep broadband costs low for small businesses and consumers. Under the rule, large telecommunication companies must allow smaller rivals to piggy-back on their networks at rates set by the government. Those smaller rivals then sell internet service to consumers and businesses. Now, USTelecom, a trade group that represents telecom and Internet service providers (ISPs), has made a formal request to the FCC to waive the rule. Some industry participants say that could result in higher prices for consumers.

The FCC isn't expected to take action until 2019 at the earliest. USTelecom says that the regulation, part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, is out of date and harms consumers. It denies that waiving the requirement will drive up prices, noting that only 11 percent of households access the internet through piggy-backed networks, down from 93 percent in 2003. (Cable companies are exempt from the rule.) A market analysis cited by USTelecom estimates that telecom companies would spend as much as $1.8 billion and create more than 2,000 jobs if they didn't have to share their lines.