Policyband

Plunging Broadband Prices Nearly Competitive with the Affordable Connectivity Program’s $30 Monthly Stipend

Millions of U.S. households now have access to clearly affordable broadband plans that include price locks ranging from one year to forever

Ted Hearn

Mar 9, 2026 — 10 min read

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Prices: That sound you’re hearing is the price of fixed broadband crashing through the floorboards beneath the U.S. communications sector. It would not be an exaggeration to say that many U.S. ISPs – responding to free-market forces rather than regulatory gimmicks – have on their own established a competitively driven replacement for the defunct Affordable Connectivity Program. (The ACP, with its $30 monthly stipend, ran out of money in June 2024.) Broadband price deflation isn’t just a niche phenomenon. It is widespread and available to tens of millions of American households, creating a golden opportunity for low-income users to get a fixed broadband connection on the cheap, and in some cases a great mobile plan to go with it. If the U.S. economy is indeed gripped by an affordability crisis, broadband ISPs deserve none of the blame. (More after paywall)