Where might consumers be paying the most for cable and internet service? New data from doxo, a billing aggregator company, points to East Coast states like New Hampshire, Vermont and Delaware.
According to doxo’s analysis of the most and least expensive states for cable and internet, New Hampshire came out on top with an average monthly bill of $151 per month, which is paid by 83% of households in the state. That monthly bill indicates New Hampshire households are paying around $1,503 annually for cable and internet.
Following New Hampshire, the states with the next highest internet bills are Vermont and Delaware, each boasting an average bill of $134 per month, Maryland ($131 per month) and New York ($131 per month).
A doxo spokesperson told Fierce it’s challenging to analyze differences in cable costs, “given how few providers there are in the space and how much control they have over pricing.”
“But often, when we see higher cable and internet costs, it can be an indication that consumers have fewer options to choose from, and therefore pricing is less competitive,” said the spokesperson.
The findings come from doxo’s Cable & Internet Market Size and Household Spending Report for 2023. The company said it looks at anonymized bill pay data spanning 97% of U.S. zip codes.
City-wise, New York is considered the most expensive large city for internet, as 65% of households pay a monthly amount of $150 per month. Following New York is San Diego with a monthly internet cost of $147, Louisville, Kentucky ($133 per month), San Antonio ($132 per month) and San Francisco ($132 per month).
The doxo spokesperson said New York is an interesting case because it may have more ISPs to choose from, which in theory would increase competition and drive down prices. However, New York City households spend on average $3,246 per month on bills – which is 58.6% higher than the national average.
“While New York state might not be #1 on the list, it still is in the top 5, and it’s likely that New York City contributes to driving the average up,” the spokesperson added.
Furthermore, doxos noted the overall average monthly cable and internet bill rose from $114 per month in 2022 to $118 per month in 2023, on account of “hidden fees and lack of regulation from the government on local and national levels.”
Those fees may include equipment rental and late payment fees, said the spokesperson, along with fees for cancellation, setup and installation.
One way the federal government is striving to make internet more affordable is the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a $30 subsidy program ran by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). But analysts have predicted the ACP will run out of funding sometime in 2024, and as of July over 19 million households are signed up for the program.