Multi-gig internet plans proliferated across the U.S. in 2026, according to a new analysis of federal data by the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. There were twice as many such plans in 2025 as there were the year before. But, the report found that because those multi-gig plans were so expensive, they drove up average price for internet service by $7 — nearly 5%.
Benton researchers relied on data from the Federal Communications Commission’s Urban Rate Survey (URS), published in December of 2025.
Plans with 2 Gbps speeds cost an average of $179 per month, according to the analysis. That’s more than twice the average sticker price of services with download speeds in the range of 100–1,000Mbps.
Customers facing slow wage growth and inflationary pressures may be slow to jump on these multigig plans, but it’s not all bad news.
Prices for internet plans in the mid-tier range declined 8.5% in real terms between 2024 and 2025 and 28.9% since 2020, according to the Benton report.
These mid-tier plans may be the sweet spot for customer growth and retention. For three years in a row, customers told Innovative Systems researchers that having a “good/consistent connection speed” and a “fair price” were top factors in their satisfaction with their internet providers.
Other findings from the Benton report show falling prices for fixed wireless internet, but say those services are much less likely to be available in urban areas. Meanwhile, prices for fiber plans were up by 12.8%, and cable prices remained unchanged. Prices were up slightly for DSL plans, but the increase amounted to a price drop when inflation was accounted for.
The report also found that while prices for speeds of less than 100 Mbps dropped, the cheapest internet plans are offered far less often than they were in 2022. Three years later, and 18 months after the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program, only 3% of plans in the federal rate survey had prices of $30 or less.
