Inflation-adjusted broadband prices fell 6 percent in 2025 while average download speeds increased nearly 22 percent, according to the USTelecom 2026 Broadband Pricing Index released this week by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The findings position broadband as a rare bright spot in an economy where housing, healthcare, utilities, and groceries have all become more expensive in recent years. Consumers aren't just paying less—they're getting substantially more capacity and performance for every dollar they spend.
Entry-level plans offering speeds between 100 and 249 Mbps saw the steepest declines, with real prices falling 17.2 percent year over year. Even gigabit service became cheaper, with inflation-adjusted prices down nearly 5 percent. The report notes that only 2 percent of likely voters identify internet service as a top household cost concern, despite widespread anxiety about affordability across other sectors. According to NCTA data cited in the analysis, roughly 92 percent of US households now have access to discounted broadband offerings priced between $15 and $30 per month through programs offered by cable providers. By contrast, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show year-over-year increases of 10.8 percent for utility gas service, 6.7 percent for hospital services, 6.7 percent for electricity, and 3.9 percent for meat, poultry, fish, and eggs.
The report finds that these price declines haven't come at the expense of investment or quality. Broadband providers invested nearly $90 billion in network infrastructure in 2024, maintaining one of the highest levels of private infrastructure investment in the American economy. Since 1996, providers have invested more than $2 trillion in communications networks. According to the authors, broadband has achieved "an unusual combination of lower inflation-adjusted prices, faster speeds, and sustained private capital investment"—a trifecta rarely seen in sectors where cost-cutting typically leads to reduced quality or underinvestment.
Competition is the driving force behind broadband's affordability gains, the report argues. Consumers increasingly have access to multiple broadband technologies, including cable, fiber, fixed wireless, satellite, and mobile services, forcing providers to invest, innovate, and compete aggressively for customers. The report describes broadband as an example of "what can happen when competition, innovation, and private investment are allowed to work." While many household expenses climb as providers struggle with rising input costs or limited competition, the broadband market has created a dynamic where companies must simultaneously improve service quality and lower prices to retain customers. The infrastructure investment figures underscore that this competition isn't a race to the bottom—it's spurring capital deployment that strengthens networks even as consumer costs fall.
The report concludes that broadband's performance should serve as "a cautionary tale for policymakers who assume that affordability problems are best solved through price regulation or other government intervention rather than competition and investment." The authors frame the sector as proof that market forces can deliver better outcomes than regulatory mandates, particularly in technology-driven industries where innovation cycles move faster than government rulemaking. In an economy dominated by conversations about rising costs and stretched household budgets, broadband stands as what the report calls "an oasis of affordability"—a sector where Americans are getting more for less, powered by competition rather than intervention.