With all the discussion about how inflation is affecting Americans, I want to share some data about broadband affordability. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, broadband prices have trended well-below inflation over the last 13 years. Between 2010-2023 overall inflation was 40%, while the broadband price index, when adjusted for quality,[1] only increased by about 10%.[2]

Line graph illustrating the December Consumer Price Index from 2010 to 2023. Change in overall broadband prices paced below overall inflation, housing, and food prices.
Download as PDF

Meanwhile, today’s broadband consumers are getting more from their ISPs. Between 2013-2024, average download speeds increased from 31 Mpbs to 254 Mpbs, an increase of 8x.[3]

Infographic illustrating the average Internet speeds increasing by eight times since 2013.
Download as PDF

David Don is SVP, Public Policy at Comcast.

[1] For more on BLS’s quality adjustment for Internet Access Indexes see: bls.gov/ppi-introduces-hedonic-quality-adjustment-for-internet-access-indexes and bls.gov/cpi/factsheets/telecommunications

[2] See U.S. Bureau of Lab. Stats., Databases, Tables, & Calculators by Subject: Series CUUR0000SEEE03 data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUUR0000SEEE03?output_view=data

[3] Ookla Speedtest Global Index, March 2024. Ookla provided data for mean download speeds per country until switching to median in 2023.

Explore Our Public Policy Content

As a global media and technology company, we advocate for policy outcomes that affect our business and the hundreds of millions of customers, viewers, and guests worldwide whom we reach through the connectivity and platforms we provide and the content and experiences we create.

Learn More
The Comcast Policy logo.