Should Grant Networks Allow High Prices?

Should higher-than-market rates be allowed on a broadband network that is being subsidized with public funding? Should an agency that awards grants or other broadband subsidies somehow insist that broadband rates are somehow tied to market rates? That’s a lot harder question to answer than you might think because the question implies that these agencies have the power to regulate or cap broadband prices in grant areas. The Ajit Pai Federal Communications Commission voluntarily gave away the right for the FCC to regulate broadband rates when it gave up Title II authority. It’s not clear if that decision has any bearing on other federal agencies that award grants like the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Economic Development Administration (also in the US Department of Commerce), and US Department of Agriculture. Can these federal agencies insist on affordable rates for broadband providers that take federal funding? If not, can the agencies at least consider rates when deciding who gets grant funding—can these agencies assign fewer qualifying grant points to somebody with a $100 basic rate compared to somebody with a $50 rate? It’s an even fuzzier question if a State has the right to set rates.