Thaspol, Adobe Stock American households still find themselves in a financial crunch when it comes to the cost of housing, healthy food, healthcare, and more. But there is at least one major household expense moving in the opposite direction: internet service.
Broadband access is no small matter in our increasingly digital world, where high-speed internet is essential infrastructure for everyday work, education, healthcare, and social life. And unlike so many sectors where consumers have watched prices climb year after year, broadband has quietly become both faster and more affordable.
It is a rare cost-of-living win driven by deregulation, private investment and market competition.
New data show real prices for the most popular internet plans fell another 6 percent in 2025, while internet speeds increased nearly 22 percent. Over the last decade, connectivity speeds have surged, giving Americans access to stronger, quicker, and more reliable internet service.
The biggest savings recently have appeared where affordability matters most. Entry-level broadband plans saw prices drop 17 percent year over year in real terms, helping more families access reliable high-speed service at lower cost. Meanwhile, gigabit internet plans — once considered premium products — also became cheaper, with prices declining nearly 5 percent as adoption continues to grow.
It is no coincidence. In recent years, the Federal Communications Commission has auctioned off broadband wavelengths previously controlled by the military. With this critical infrastructure back in the hands of telecommunications companies, firms like AT&T and Verizon have been able to invest in upgrading to fiber optic wires and building new poles.
This is the kind of story policymakers too often overlook: The free market is delivering measurable affordability gains for consumers. As a result, just 2 percent of likely voters rank internet costs as a top household concern — far behind groceries, healthcare, housing, and utilities. At a time when affordability dominates political debate, broadband stands out as one category where innovation and infrastructure investment are producing real consumer benefits for millions of households across the country.
The challenge now is making sure policymakers do not undermine that progress.
Too often, broadband expansion is slowed by outdated permitting rules, lengthy approval processes, and unnecessary layers of regulation that make building networks more expensive and time-consuming.
The best way to continue lowering costs and improving service is not to burden broadband providers with unnecessary regulation, but to accelerate deployment, streamline permitting and modernize networks so investment can continue flowing into faster and more resilient infrastructure.
Various regulatory bottlenecks can be addressed to speed up network construction and preserve the momentum that has made broadband one of the strongest affordability success stories in the American economy. These may include simplifying approval processes, modernizing rules around infrastructure such as utility poles, and reducing delays that slow private-sector broadband expansion projects.
At the same time, policymakers should avoid rate-setting schemes or heavy-handed regulations that discourage long-term private investment. The reason internet service has become faster and more affordable over time is that providers have continued investing billions into improving networks in a competitive marketplace.
For consumers frustrated by rising bills nearly everywhere else, this is a story worth paying attention to. Broadband affordability did not happen by accident. It happened because innovation, competition, and investment were allowed to work.
Continued progress will depend on policymakers removing barriers to growth rather than creating new ones.
Sam Raus is the David Boaz Resident Writing Fellow at Young Voices.
Add as preferred source on Google TagsCopyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Comments: Link copiedMore Opinions - Finance News
See All
Opinions - Finance Free enterprise built America — here’s why we must sustain it. by Reps. August Pfluger (R-Texas), Lou Correa (D-Calif.), David Valadao (R-Calif.), and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), opinion contributors 3 days ago Opinions - Finance / 3 days ago 
