FCC Sets 2026 Urban Rate Benchmarks for Broadband
FCC establishes $96 benchmark for broadband plans offered by USF recipients
WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 2025 – Think $96 a month for broadband is reasonable?
The FCC released its 2026 Urban Rate Survey on Friday, setting benchmarks used to determine whether the cost of federally supported voice and broadband services are “reasonably” comparable to those available in urban markets.
For 2026, that benchmark puts a 100 * 20 Megabit per second (Mbps) broadband plan at roughly $96 per month, up from $85.85 the previous year.
While the figure was up roughly $10 from the previous year, it still remained near or below the $92.26 and $105 benchmarks reported in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Each year, the FCC collects random-sample data on the rates of fixed voice and fixed broadband services in urban areas to establish benchmarks for the following year’s universal service determinations.
Carriers receiving Universal Service Fund support must price services at or below the urban benchmark. The benchmarks apply to carriers often serving some of the most rural and high-cost areas in the country, where deploying broadband is expensive and incomes tend to be lower.
There is no single standard for broadband affordability, but in 2016, the FCC began using a benchmark of 2 percent of monthly household income as a reference point.
A household would need to earn at least $57,600 annually for a $96 month broadband plan to be considered “affordable” under the FCC’s standard – out of reach for the roughly three in ten households earning less than $50,000, according to 2024 U.S. Census Bureau data.
Under the FCC’s standard, households' monthly affordability thresholds range from $84.79 in the South to $107.65 in the Northeast, Pew Research Center found.
At the county level, the variation in affordability was more stark. County-level baselines ranged from $28.52 in Issaquena County, Mississippi, with a median income of $17,109, to $261.37 in Loudoun County, Virginia, with a median income of $156,821 a month.
The FCC’s benchmarks provide a reference for federally supported carriers, but affordability continues to be a significant barrier for millions of Americans.
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