Higher prices have come for your internet bill — at least it feels that way for many. That’s according to a new CNET survey that found 63% of US adults paying for home internet saw their prices increase last year. On average, they paid $195 more last year than they did the year before.
Price hikes didn’t necessarily translate to better service, either. More than half of people who saw their bills increase said they still experienced unreliable connectivity.
The survey results come at a fraught moment for the broadband industry in the US. The federal government has dedicated more than $90 billion to closing this digital divide since the COVID-19 pandemic but the Trump Administration has expressed impatience with the results. It is reportedly looking to shift funds away from fiber internet and toward Elon Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink, which has some experts concerned about its high $120 monthly price tag.
“If it’s not affordable, it’s not accessible,” said Sean Gonsalvez, a director of communication with the advocacy group The Institute for Local Self-Reliance.
Customers have taken a number of steps to deal with higher prices, including downgrading to a cheaper plan, switching providers or canceling service altogether. We asked experts for their best advice on how to handle these issues.
- 63% of US adults paying for home internet said their prices increased last year
- Respondents who cited price increases paid an average of $195 more than the year before
- More than half of respondents with price increases still experienced unreliable connectivity
- Because of cost, one in five US adults who pay for home internet have had to downgrade, switch internet service providers (ISPs) or cancel service
Most people saw their internet bill increase last year
Price increases are routine for internet customers, with 63% of surveyed US adults reporting higher bills than the previous year. On average, they paid $195 more than the previous year.
Trey Paul, CNET’s senior broadband editor, doesn’t find it surprising. “That $195 figure may be startling at first but when you consider that many ISPs increase their monthly prices by $20 to even $50 after the enticing promotional price, it makes sense. I’m actually a little stunned it wasn’t higher.”
CNET’s analysis of price increases from the biggest ISPs in the country found monthly price increases as high as $50 with providers like Spectrum after one year. Those higher prices didn’t necessarily translate to better performance, though, with 51% of customers who saw their bills increase still reporting unreliable internet.
In a lot of cases, customers don’t even know their plan’s price is going up until they see the higher number on their bills. Jonathan Schwantes, senior policy counsel at Consumer Reports, helped lead an analysis of more than 22,000 internet bills in 2022.
“Some of the bills we collected are incredibly complicated,” he said. “In thousands of cases, it is too hard for people to figure out what they’re paying for, what the hidden fees mean or to even locate the price for internet service.”
Some of that confusion was cleared up last year, when the Federal Communications Commission began requiring ISPs to display key information on their plans in “broadband nutrition labels.”
When you’re shopping around for internet plans, look for a button that says “Broadband Facts” or “View Broadband Labels.” Each provider is legally required to show you if your bill will increase after the introductory rate expires and by how much. You’ll also see any other fees that will show up on your bill, such as charges for equipment or installation.
2 in 5 users experience unreliable internet service
42% of US adults from this survey said they experienced unreliable internet speeds or connectivity last year, but the level of reliability differs based on income.
Higher income levels were associated with greater reliability, according to this survey. It showed 57% of adults with annual incomes above $80,000 had no connection issues at all last year, compared with 45% with incomes below $40,000.
Lynnette White, 77, told me the internet in her senior building used to go out at the same time every day.
“It was very frustrating and aggravating because you were in the middle of something” she said.
Survey respondents said the areas that are impacted most often by unreliable internet are the ability to access entertainment (31%), work from home (19%), pay bills (18%), stay connected with family and friends (16%) and keep up with current events and news developments (13%).
That access to entertainment might sound like a luxury but it came across as an essential lifeline for the internet users I talked to. Phyllis Jackson, a retired administrative assistant in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, told me she thinks of the computer like her best friend at times.
“I like to see people talking, and since I live alone, I like to hear voices. It seems more personal,” she said. “At my age and living alone, if I couldn’t have access to the internet computer, that would really depress me.”
6% of respondents said virtual education opportunities were affected by disruptions in their internet access in the past year. Amina Fazlullah, the head of tech policy advocacy at Common Sense Media, told me this statistic was particularly worrying for her.
“We know that for students, if you experience poor service or unreliable service, chances are, you’re going to miss that window of opportunity to engage that student in that resource,” she said. “Once you’ve lost it, it’s really hard to restart.”
High costs have forced users to cancel or downgrade service
Those price increases have had a material effect on internet users. The survey shows one in five US adults who pay for home internet access have had to downgrade to a cheaper plan, switch providers because of high costs or cancel their service entirely. Only one in 10 have tried to negotiate their bill.
“One thing that we’re concerned about is seeing the results specifically around the need to cancel or downgrade to a lower-cost plan,” Fazlullah said. “All of your daily needs — so much of it runs through the internet, and knowing that people are losing access is particularly concerning.”
Karen Kama, a 68-year-old in Reading, Pennsylvania, told me that because she is on a fixed income even a small price increase will force her to cancel services altogether. Early this year, her low-income internet plan from Xfinity increased from $10 to $15 a month.
“If they go up again, I’m just gonna have that shut off,” Kama said.
It’s well documented that affordability is the primary reason that most people don’t have home internet. According to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey, 20% of people who don’t have a home internet subscription cited cost as the main reason — the highest of any answer and more than twice the number who said service isn’t available.
Users feel the impact of the ACP’s end
CNET’s survey also sheds light on the impact of the Affordable Connectivity Program’s end, a $30 monthly subsidy that helped low-income households pay for internet that shut down in mid-2024. 12% of respondents said they’ve seen their bills increase in the past year after the benefit went away.
“The demise of ACP was detrimental to so many and I think that this is reflected in these numbers,” said Christopher Ali, professor of telecommunications at Penn State University.
By the time the Federal Communications Commission ended ACP enrollments in February 2024, 23 million Americans had enrolled. The program accepted households at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, or $60,000 in annual income for a family of four last year.
What you can do if your bill goes up
First, it’s important to pay attention to your billing. If you have auto pay set up it’s easy to lose track of price hikes. Here are a few other tactics:
Negotiate with your ISP
Many of us have done this song and dance before: Our internet promotion runs out at the end of the year, so we contact our provider to negotiate a better deal. These days, you’ll probably have to start with an online chat, which often uses AI. (Here are some tips for using AI right back in your negotiations.) Some best practices include researching the available plans beforehand, calling between May and October for the best deals and trying again later if you don’t get the deal you were hoping for.
Downgrade your plan
You might not need as much speed as you think you do; for most people, 100Mbps is plenty for HD streaming and video calls. To check how much speed you’re currently getting, you can run a quick speed test from any connected device. If you have fewer than a dozen connected devices at any given time, but you’re getting more than 200Mbps, you might consider downgrading to a slower plan.
Switch ISPs
If negotiations hit a dead end, you have to be willing to walk away from a bad ISP relationship. This can be a daunting prospect — no one wants to get stuck without internet while you’re waiting for your new service to kick in — but it can be one of the most effective ways to save money on your internet bill. That’s because most providers offer excellent deals for new customers and some will even buy out your old contract. To see what’s available in your area, enter your address on the FCC’s broadband map and see what other options are available to you.
Buy your own equipment
Most internet providers charge between $10 and $15 in equipment fees but you can buy your own Wi-Fi router for less than $100. It’s a bit of an investment upfront but it will usually pay for itself in the first year and your internet bill will be significantly cheaper. I tried this myself a couple years ago and wound up saving $180 a year.
Methodology
CNET commissioned YouGov Plc to conduct the survey. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,367 adults of which 2,304 have home internet access and 1,916 pay for home internet. Fieldwork was undertaken March 19-21, 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18+).
Read the full article here
