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.

Mediacom Communications subsidiary MCC Iowa LLC filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission seeking review of the rights-of-way management practices of the city of West Des Moines and what the company calls the city’s exclusive relationship with Google Fiber. It focuses on what MCC Iowa says is a $50 million taxpayer financed conduit network that the city is building for the exclusive use of Google Fiber. Mediacom filed a suit, which is ongoing, against the City of West Des Moines and the West Des Moines City Council in Dec 2020. The filing with the FCC claims that West Des Moines is imposing discriminatory burdens on competitors and denying residents in developing areas of the city and elsewhere access to low-cost broadband choices. The petition claims that the agreement materialized “shortly after Google’s primary Iowa lobbyist took his seat on the West Des Moines City Council” and that the service provider retained the mayor’s real estate company to secure office space. Mediacom is asking the FCC to take steps including advising the city to halt construction of the conduit network pending its review and to amend the agreement between the city and Google Fiber to remove exclusive design, financial and permitting preferences and rights.

On May 5, 2021, Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel responded to various Members of Congress regarding the FCC's efforts to make the broadband deployment data it collects more accurate, particularly after the passage of the Broadband DATA Act. She wrote, "I am pleased to report that we have made significant progress in just a few months, including the efforts highlighted below. In addition, we are actively exploring further near-term efforts to improve our data and outreach and will seek to make information available to the public as we continue to develop the information collection envisioned by the Broadband DATA Act." Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel highlighted the following actions:

• The formation of a Broadband Data Task Force.
• FCC has begun the contracting necessary to build new databases and systems. 
• The issued Request for Information (RFI) to jump-start the contracting process for the creation of the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric.
• Working with other government agencies to coordinate efforts.
• Stepping up outreach efforts to consumers and other stakeholders, including the public-facing website fcc.gov/BroadbandData.

House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO-06) and Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS) introduced the Eliminating Barriers to Rural Internet Development Grant Eligibility (E-BRIDGE) Act, a bill to remove barriers for communities seeking to use Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants to develop high-speed broadband access. The legislation would remove hurdles for broadband projects under EDA grants, including difficult last-mile efforts that often delay rural broadband deployment.  It also ensures that local communities can partner with the private sector in carrying out broadband projects and gives communities more flexibility in complying with their funding match requirements. The bill:

• Eliminates barriers to investments in broadband in distressed communities, making them eligible for EDA grants.
• Clarifies that eligible recipients may include public-private partnerships and consortiums to leverage private sector expertise in project development.
• Provides flexibility in the procurement process to account for limited availability of broadband services in distressed communities.
• Clarifies that funds can be combined with other federal resources.
• Provides flexibility on accounting for in-kind methods to meet non-federal cost share.