Internet prices kick off Washington brawl

President Joe Biden's promise to cut the price of Americans' internet bills has provoked a fierce lobbying campaign by cable and telecom companies to prove that the cost of broadband has already dropped. Internet providers are desperate to fend off any move to regulate the prices they charge, while the government is increasingly viewing connectivity as an essential service. Internet industry lobbyists are publicly touting studies showing a decline in prices, attacking reports that argue otherwise and telling members of Congress there's no need for new regulations because they already have affordable programs in place.

A senior administration official said the bulk of the evidence shows prices have gone up recently and prices are higher than they are for comparable plans in Europe. President Biden noted the high cost of internet service in March, and the official said, "I don't think we've seen anything since he made those comments to make us feel like we were wrong about that. We're still committed to taking some bold action to make sure that we bring those prices down for folks." The White House also highlighted a working paper from Berkeley Law professor Tejas Narechania. Narechania finds that broadband providers offer slower service for the same price in areas where they lack competition, and proposes a model statute for rate regulation of a basic tier broadband service in areas without competition. The senior administration official said the White House hasn''t taken a position on rate regulation, but noted, "It's pretty clear that it's something that the FCC could do under the existing statutes that it has in its jurisdiction." The other side: Cable and telecom industry groups dispute many of the White House studies, and argue prices are dropping for U.S. customers.