![]() ![]() Equally as telling is that enrollment in the federal ACP program appears to have plateaued in recent months. Studies have found that, even at a price of zero, some non-adopters will still opt not to use broadband. Instead, the FCC has developed a “nutrition label” that will help consumers determine for themselves whether a particular broadband offering is affordable.Īffordability Encompasses Much More Than The Price Of BroadbandĪffordability remains poorly understood by policymakers, who, all too often, focus just on the cost of a broadband subscription and overlook the myriad other factors that influence whether a person chooses to pay to use the service. This could open the door to potentially sweeping data reporting that even the FCC has determined is not necessary given the robust competitive dynamics of the broadband market. NTIA also encourages states to “establish a regime of continued monitoring and public reporting to ensure” that broadband is affordable to middle-class households. In addition, states are preempted from regulating broadband rates, so there is no independent authority for states to rely upon to regulate prices for broadband. Approving a state’s plan that includes elements that have the effect, intended or not, of setting a rate for a broadband offering would likely run afoul of the BIL. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL BIL) bars NTIA from engaging in rate regulation. Instead, NTIA casually floats a range of ideas, many of which encourage states to engage in rate regulation-like activities that federal policymakers have determined are “strictly prohibited” in the broadband market.Įvery state’s BEAD plan must be approved by NTIA. NTIA offers little guidance to states for structuring a middle-class affordability plan. Instead, rates are set using a rate-of-return framework, and subsidies are made available to those households ( i.e., low-income) for which the new rates are considered burdensome. ![]() Regulators typically do not impose discrete affordability criteria during utility ratemaking. This occurs even for services that are heavily regulated, like electricity and water. Policymakers usually forego attempting to set an “affordable” price for a good or service rather, they make subsidies available to income-eligible households to offset its cost. This dynamic is evident in many other sectors as well. Efforts to address affordability in the broadband space have rightly focused on low-income households, a group for which the cost of a connection, among other factors, has long been documented as a barrier to adoption. Aside from its legal infirmities, NTIA’s directive is misguided policy.
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