Digital Inclusion

Study: Bulk Broadband Cuts Gigabit Prices in Half

Consumers would pay $5.6 billion more annually without bulk arrangements, a new study finds.

Georgina Mackie

May 21, 2026 — 2 min read

Photo of Kevin Donnelly, executive director and chief advocacy officer of the Real Estate Technology & Transformation Center.

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2026 – Residents in bulk broadband arrangements pay 50 percent less for gigabit internet service, according to a new study filed Thursday at the Federal Communications Commission.

Bulk arrangements are contracts between internet providers and multi-dwelling units, including apartments, condominiums, and homeowners associations to deliver service to all residents collectively, rather than through individual retail plans. Roughly 9.9 million U.S. households, about 7 percent of all housing, currently live under such arrangements.

The study, conducted by telecommunications consulting firm Cartesian for the Bulk Broadband Alliance, drew on pricing data from more than 1,000 active bulk contracts and found that bulk-served buildings averaged 5.7 competing facilities-based wireline providers, compared with 2.2 in retail-served units.

Post tagged in

Digital Inclusion Bulk Broadband Alliance Theresa Myers Cartesian Communications Marketplace Report Kevin Donnelly Brian Hurley Jessica Rosenworcel Brendan Carr FCC