broadband access - Adjacent

Jul 21

AT&T's price hike targets its most price-sensitive broadband customers

AT&T is raising rates on legacy fiber and internet plans—the products serving cost-conscious consumers and lower-income households with few alternatives. Where AT&T controls last-mile infrastructure, it can extract rent from captive customers rather than compete on value. Newer fiber and 5G offerings target affluent segments. The move underscores why broadband is increasingly treated as essential infrastructure: carriers optimize for shareholder returns over affordability for the least price-sensitive customer segments.

theme-connected infrastructure regulation broadband access

May 7

Appeals court kills FCC's broadband non-discrimination rule

Source: Ars Technica

A federal appeals court has eliminated the FCC's authority to prevent internet providers from blocking or throttling specific services. The ruling removes a core guardrail against ISPs fragmenting broadband into tiered access tiers. Companies like Comcast and Verizon can now prioritize their own streaming services or paid fast lanes over competitors, converting infrastructure control into a competitive advantage. Network neutrality enforcement—already weakened by regulatory shifts between administrations—now lacks basic non-discrimination protections, exposing startups and smaller platforms to ISP leverage.