Penn State Professor Calls for Regulation of Broadband Rates
The idea would represent a significant shift in how policymakers approach the nation’s broadband market.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2026 – A Penn State University professor is urging policymakers to consider regulating how much internet service providers can charge consumers, arguing that broadband prices remain out of reach for many households.
Christopher Ali, the Pioneers Chair in Telecommunications at Penn State, said in an essay for the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society that policymakers should consider setting maximum broadband rates.
Ali pointed to the roughly $78 median monthly broadband bill in the U.S. and argued that affordability should be measured by what households pay each month, rather than by the amount of bandwidth they receive.
“No household pays per megabit. They pay a bill once a month,” Ali wrote.
He also cited research indicating that some lower-income households can afford only about $10 per month for broadband, highlighting what he sees as a gap between current market prices and what some consumers can reasonably pay.
Some providers are also experimenting with shorter pricing increments, including AT&T, which recently introduced a 24-hour unlimited data pass for eligible iPad users.
Nor did Ali note that Comcast is offering 300 Mbps for $40 a month with a five‑year price lock, and Mediacom sells a $50 monthly broadband‑mobile bundle with a two‑year lock – attractive prices far below the $78 median monthly cost that Ali cites.
Ali did point to New York's Affordable Broadband Act as an example of how rate regulation could work. The law requires certain providers to offer broadband for $15 per month for 25 Mbps service or $20 per month for 200 Mbps service to eligible low-income households.
California has also taken a similar approach in its recent conditions for the Charter-Cox merger, requiring the combined company to offer a $20-per-month broadband plan.
Ali acknowledged that providers argue rate regulation could limit their ability to invest in broadband networks. But he said broadband should not necessarily be treated differently from other utilities, such as electricity and water, which operate under rate regulation while continuing to make major infrastructure investments.
The proposal would represent a significant shift in federal broadband policy, where policymakers have generally relied on competition and subsidies rather than direct regulation of consumer rates.
Ali also argued that recent federal efforts to promote low-cost broadband options have not gone far enough. While the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program requires participating providers to offer a low-cost option, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's 2025 restructuring prevented states from setting the price of that option.
“It’s time to create an internet ecosystem that Americans can afford,” said Ali.
