Despite N.Y.’s new law, the fight for affordable broadband rages on

• New York’s affordable broadband law is now officially in effect, despite opposition from ISPs and trade groups
• But it doesn’t come close to addressing other factors deterring fixed broadband adoption, said Digital Progress Institute President Joel Thayer
• The question of whether the Affordable Connectivity Program is complicated

As of Wednesday, operators in New York state will have to abide by a new law requiring them to offer a broadband option for $15 per month, whether they like it or not (and many of them don’t). However, the war for broadband access rages on, and the state’s decision doesn’t make matters any less complicated.

It’s no surprise telecom trade groups aren’t happy with New York’s Affordable Broadband Act, as it paves the way for other states to create their own rate regulation laws. But while the law is well-intentioned, it doesn’t come close to solving the digital divide, said Joel Thayer, president of the Digital Progress Institute.

According to Thayer, “price is only part of the issue.”

Originally passed in 2021, the New York law states ISPs must offer low-income households a 25 Mbps internet plan for no more than $15 per month (or $20/month if it’s a 200-meg plan). Price increases are capped at 2% per year, and state officials will periodically review whether they should raise the minimum required speeds.

While cost is one of the more common reasons Americans don’t subscribe to high-speed home internet, other factors deterring fixed broadband adoption include the cost of equipment (e.g., a computer), lack of available service and the widespread availability of smartphones.

“The state’s law does not address this at all,” Thayer said.

The future of the ACP is still murky

New York’s Affordable Broadband Act provides a glimmer of hope for certain residents after the federal government pulled the plug on the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Over 23 million low-income households were enrolled in the ACP before funding ran out, after which providers rushed to put out their own low-cost broadband alternatives. Nearly 1.8 million of those households were in New York.

Other states may take a page out of New York’s book, said New Street Research policy analyst Blair Levin. But whether state efforts can help revive the ACP is tough to say, especially with the fate of the Universal Service Fund (USF) still up in the air.

The Supreme Court will decide later this year if the USF is unconstitutional or not. Even if more states decide to go for the New York model, “by then Trump and Musk may have declared victory in addressing the digital divide,” he told Fierce.

“They don’t distinguish between the access and the affordability divides but appear to only care about the former,” Levin explained. “That will make it more difficult to pass USF reform.”

Although ACP was a program with bipartisan support, efforts by Congress to push more funding out the door didn’t go anywhere. Some Republicans want to bring back ACP but in a way that provides more to rural low-income folks than urban ones, said Levin, “which makes the politics of ACP and USF more difficult.”

“So it is still a long and winding road until we have clarity,” Levin said.

For Thayer’s part, he thinks states taking broadband rate regulation into their own hands “will only create more of a patchwork effect, which complicates national builds.”

“If anything, it further complicates important conversations that we need to have at the federal level, including reauthorizing funds for the ACP,” he concluded. “Because it makes the issue of affordability far more partisan.”