Study: Bulk Broadband Cuts Gigabit Prices in Half

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.