The FCC Is Trying To Determine If You Are Paying Too Much For Internet Service

Are you paying too much for your internet connection? Many Americans feel that they are, and this sentiment is driving a Federal Communications Commission investigation into the matter.

Is Internet Access Too Expensive?

Americans concerned that their internet connection costs too much is not a new concern. It has been a conversation for a decade if not longer and has been a focal point when it comes to the digital divide. But the pandemic has brought more attention to the issue than ever. There were many Americans during lockdowns that struggled to afford broadband internet access despite needing it for work and school. In a discussion about the digital divide, there is understandably an emphasis on rural Americans, but what often gets overlooked is the sheer number of people in cities who cannot afford internet access.

Initial Phase of an FCC Investigation

The government has been called on before to consider affordable internet access as it does utilities, but such calls of largely gone ignored thus far. But this certainly began to change during the pandemic, and the Federal Communications Commission is in the early stages of an investigation. The FCC recently announced that it was requesting comments specifically from people who live in apartments to understand better the challenges that this particular group experiences when choosing an internet service provider.

The Apartment Problem

Apartment complexes present a unique situation. While it is illegal for apartment complexes to enter exclusive agreements, many managed to do it while skirting the law. The FCC has even acknowledged that there are agreements that are legal but result in restricted consumer choice. The FCC has even gone as far as to identify the agreements that it has a problem with. These include revenue-sharing agreements, exclusive wiring agreements and exclusive marketing agreements. In all of these cases, the landlord receives compensation at the expense of the consumer.

Other Types of Agreements

While the FCC identified legal yet problematic agreements, it also recognized that there are other agreements that are troublesome. Without explicitly saying so, the FCC essentially said that it knows that backroom deals are taking place and advised that the public needs to be active in this regard. In other words, if you feel as if your apartment complex is behaving in a shady manner when it comes to your internet access, then you should call the free FCC hotline and alert them to it.

Biden Executive Order

It would be ideal if the FCC had taken it upon itself due to public criticism. Nevertheless, that is not the case. In fact, the FCC has only now acted due to an executive order from President Biden that requires federal agencies to address problems with competition, and this is not limited to internet service providers and extends to transportation, healthcare and more.

Better Internet for All

More important than how we got here is that we are here. In addition, it is worth emphasizing that this is an important first step. It can be easy to wave this off as only applying to apartment dwellers. While that may be true in a sense, this focus gets to a fundamental issue with ISPs in America, which has been a lack of competition and those companies doing everything that they can to keep it that way. This will change regardless, but perhaps this focus will help it to change sooner than later.