How the ​FCC Can Lower Broadband Costs and Increase Consumer Choice for Apartment Residents

In March 2024, the Federal Communications Commission circulated a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, or NPRM, seeking input on how to best “lower costs and address the lack of choice for broadband services available to households in apartments, condos, public housing, and other multi-tenant buildings.” Public Knowledge and 30 other organizations recently wrote to the Commission expressing our support for giving consumers the freedom to opt-out of bulk billing arrangements. This proposal is an intuitive addition to the administration’s broader suite of pro-consumer efforts, such as the FCC’s recently adopted “all-in” pricing transparency rules. Broadband bulk billing arrangements may sound good in theory – if people collectively pay into a service and receive a discounted rate, what’s not to like? But if you look under the hood, these contracts don’t always end up serving consumers’ interests. Instead, many tenants are left with poor service or high prices. For example, Lifeline-eligible consumers (or Affordable Connectivity Program-eligible households, should the program be revived) are forced onto higher-cost plans. So an opt-out option is a middle ground, commonsense approach to meet the wide-ranging needs of tenants. When we empower consumers to leave arrangements that aren’t working for them, we build markets that are responsive to every consumer’s needs.