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The US government is attempting to work with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to offer lower-priced internet to lower-income customers, but the ISPs say the government’s goal of $30 per month isn’t realistic.
The federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program provides $42.45 billion to ISPs to “expand high-speed internet access by funding planning, infrastructure, deployment, and adoption programs,” with the requirement that they each offer at least one affordable option for lower-income subscribers.
Earlier this week, 30 broadband industry trade groups sent a letter to the Biden administration claiming that the program illegally regulates broadband prices. Or in other words, they want the government money but don’t want the requirement to offer lower-priced internet as a stipulation of that cash, Ars Technica reports.
“Allowing, and in fact mandating, unrealistically low rates can undermine our shared goal of providing affordable broadband to those who need it most by making participation economically infeasible for rural broadband providers,” the letter reads.
According to the ISPs, a rate of $30 per month is “completely unmoored from the economic realities of deploying and operating networks in the highest-cost, hardest-to-reach areas.” They claim that they’ll be burdened with the cost of maintaining those networks.
In February, a number of ISPs contacted the FCC to attempt to withdraw from another federal program, the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, so that they could participate in BEAD. ISPs are not allowed to be part of both programs.