Residents of apartments, condos, and homeowners associations save more than 50% on broadband with bulk billing arrangements negotiated by property owners than comparable retail plans, according to new research from the Bulk Broadband Alliance.
Conducted by Cartesian, the study, “Understanding Bulk Billing Arrangements,” was filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as part of the 2026 Communications Report proceeding. The Bulk Broadband Alliance noted that because bulk arrangements are negotiated privately between internet service providers and property owners, the consumer benefits haven’t been quantified at scale.
“Until now, the pricing and competitive dynamic of bulk broadband haven’t been measured at scale,” noted Theresa Myers, principal of strategy and analytics at Cartesian, a telecommunications consulting firm. “Our analysis of more than 1,000 active bulk contracts found bulk prices more than 50% below comparable retail, and that multi-dwelling units soliciting bulk bids can attract roughly 5.7 facilities-based wireline providers—more than double the 2.22 typically available for retail service. Three forces drive these results: more competition, reduced provider costs, and stronger purchasing power.”
Roughly 7% of U.S. housing, or approximately 9.9 million households, live in properties with bulk arrangements. The study found without bulk, consumers would collectively pay an estimated $5.6 billion more each year for retail broadband, with the Bulk Broadband Alliance noting this is a conservative estimate.
In addition, the study documents how bulk arrangements play a role in closing the digital divide, benefiting, in particular, lower-income residents, seniors, and students. The study also found savings through bulk billing are greater when internet and video services are bundled.
“Broadband bulk billing is one of the clearest examples of technology and scale working to the benefit of residents,” said Kevin Donnelly, executive director and chief advocacy officer at the Real Estate Technology & Transformation Center. “By aggregating demand, housing providers are able to negotiate lower costs, drive infrastructure investment, expand access, and deliver high-quality connectivity at a price point many residents could not secure on their own.”
Last year, FCC chairman Brendan Carr ended consideration of a proposal to regulate bulk billing, which could have raised the price of internet service for apartment residents by as much as 50%. Carr’s decision also continued a pattern under both Democratic and Republican administrations over the years where bulk arrangements have remained unregulated across Commission reviews. The Bulk Broadband Alliance is asking the FCC to incorporate the consumer benefits found in the study into its 2026 Marketplace Report.
“We’re grateful that the FCC set the record straight last year that bulk billing is a win-win for providers and residents with increased investment, better services, and lower costs. By ensuring participation across an entire property, including apartments, condominiums, homeowners associations, and buildings that might go unserved, these agreements create the economic certainty needed to deploy fiber and deliver gigabit-level speeds,” added Brian Hurley, senior vice president of legal and regulatory affairs at America’s Communications Association. “Reflecting these findings in the 2026 Marketplace Report is a natural extension of the commission’s long-standing regulatory approach to bulk billing—one that empirical data and real-world evidence from our members fully supports.”