Memo to the FCC: “Real Prices” — Keep Going Up.
The FCC’s reliance on garbage data and analysis has harmed America and helped to create the Digital Divide.
Verizon just told investors that they had 4 major rate increases in 2024, and already had 2 in 2025. We’ll come back to this.
Yet the Chairman of FCC, Brendan Carr, stated prices went down:
“In real terms, the prices for Internet services have dropped by about 9% since the beginning of 2018, according to BLS CPI data. On the mobile broadband side alone, real prices have dropped by roughly 18% since 2017, according to BLS and industry data. And for the most popular broadband speed tiers, real prices are down 54%, and for the fastest broadband speed tiers, prices are down 55%, over the past 8 years, according to BLS and industry data.”
At first we thought that this was a joke. The “real price” are the prices published on the bill that customers pay; everything else is just an imaginary number used to do spin, such as prices are going down.
In a previous story we detailed that prices for AT&T have continually gone up for the last 5 years and that this statement, discussing the BLS-CPI is a pile of bad analysis by another government agency and compounded by the ‘industry’ data -“Industry data” is a euphemism for the companies supplying the FCC with data that is designed to help the companies, not the public. And it can be from ‘prestigious’, but coin-operated research firms that create a plausible story until you look at the details.
The Street just wrote that Verizon has had a slew of rate increases in 2024, and more to come. Some excerpts:
- “Verizon increased prices for its wireless services multiple times last year. Most notably, in March, it raised the monthly price of its 5G Start, 5G Play More, 5G Get More, and 5G Do More unlimited mobile plans by $4.
- “By December, it increased its monthly Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge for mobile users by $0.20 per line.
- “Also, just last month, Verizon hiked monthly prices for wireless customers who have myPlan and New Verizon Plan accounts due to “rising operational costs.”
- “Verizon makes another bold move
- “Now, it appears that Verizon’s wireless customers will have to brace themselves for another round of price increases that will soon take effect.
- “According to a new brochure added to Verizon’s website, it revealed that the monthly price for its Verizon Mobile Protect Multi-Device plan for customers who have four to 20 lines will increase from $60 to $68, effective March 27.”
4 rate increases in 2024, and 2 already in 2025. But the kicker is, Verizon told investors that there were 4 increases in just 2024. This is what Verizon said as reported by the Street.
“We had four major price-ups in 2024, we’ve had two in 2025, because we are delivering more value to our customers, and they feel very comfortable with our price structure,”
Everyone who pays a communications bill in 2025 knows there have been rate increases, and, of course they now have a new trust that this FCC will help lower rates — the real prices.
But what about the Consumer Price Index, or inflation adjustment or that say, you get more speed for your money on broadband?
The Real Price is what you pay, as stated on the bill. We will address these issues in the next few stories.
