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If you feel like your home internet service is getting more expensive, you’re not alone.
According to a US News & World Report survey released April 2, the average monthly broadband bill is $89, compared with an average initial cost of $77 a month.
The results of the late-2023 survey, which queried “2,500 Americans about their internet bill costs over time, their internet service reliability, and how satisfied they are with the internet service they get for their money,” showed that broadband costs are trending upward.
“Not surprisingly, the cost of internet service—like that of many other basic expenses, including groceries and utilities—has been rising, and the price users pay tends to increase over time,” the report said.
More than half of the survey participants reported steadily climbing prices, saying they paid between $20 and $60 per month when they first subscribed to their current broadband service.
If you live in New Jersey, you might particularly feel the squeeze: US News found that Garden State denizens pay an average of $126 a month for internet. Montana residents reported the lowest average bill: $70.
The report noted that while broadband affordability is a perennial issue, the fast-approaching sunset of the pandemic-era Affordable Connectivity Program is likely to exacerbate the budget squeeze. That program offers up to $30 monthly subsidies to cover home internet bills and up to $75 monthly for households on tribal lands, but Congress has no clear path to renewing it by the time it runs out of money at the end of the month.