{"id":185,"date":"2025-07-23T11:48:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T11:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/california-drops-15-broadband-plan-amid-federal-pressure\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T10:52:26","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T10:52:26","slug":"california-drops-15-broadband-plan-amid-federal-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/california-drops-15-broadband-plan-amid-federal-pressure\/","title":{"rendered":"California Drops $15 Broadband Plan Amid Federal Pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/delivery-us1.bfl.ai\/results\/4f\/329488b2105b71\/b2105b711a374bb78bb088e04dd48754\/sample.jpeg?se=2025-07-23T11%3A58%3A50Z&amp;sp=r&amp;sv=2024-11-04&amp;sr=b&amp;rsct=image\/jpeg&amp;sig=qUobiYj7\/1xjrjQFe7GhBzyzg70NSkaLq2oP2N7xYfU%3D\" alt=\"California Drops $15 Broadband Plan Amid Federal Pressure\"><br>Ever wondered why your internet bill stays stubbornly high? A recent clash between California and the U.S. government just made affordable broadband even harder to reach. Here\u2019s the scoop.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-11-2025-04_07_27-PM.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-11-2025-04_07_27-PM.png 1536w, https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-11-2025-04_07_27-PM-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-11-2025-04_07_27-PM-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-11-2025-04_07_27-PM-768x512.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>\u00a0### What Happened?<br>California had a bold plan: force internet providers to offer a **$15\/month basic broadband tier** to low-income households. But the federal government threatened to block the state\u2019s access to crucial broadband subsidies, calling the state\u2019s rules &#8216;counterproductive.&#8217; California caved, scrapping the requirement this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>### Why Did the Feds Push Back?<br>The Trump-era FCC had banned states from imposing their own broadband regulations. Even though that rule was repealed in 2021, the Biden administration argued California\u2019s $15 plan might conflict with newer federal programs (like the Affordable Connectivity Program). Critics call it a messy bureaucratic standoff\u2014with everyday users stuck in the middle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>### \u2018A Complete Farce,\u2019 Says State Lawmaker<br>California Assemblymember Jim Wood didn\u2019t hold back: *&#8217;This is a complete farce. The federal government is supposed to help expand access, not block states from trying to help their residents.&#8217;* Meanwhile, millions of Californians still lack affordable internet\u2014a gap that\u2019s only grown since the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>### What\u2019s Next for Affordable Broadband?<br>&#8211; Federal programs like the ACP still offer discounts (up to $30\/month).<br>&#8211; California\u2019s plan could resurface if federal policies shift (hello, election year dynamics).<br>&#8211; ISPs like Comcast and AT&amp;T continue offering low-cost plans\u2026 but advocates argue they\u2019re *still* too expensive for many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bottom line? The fight for affordable internet just got messier. Should states have the power to set their own rules, or does this kind of patchwork hurt progress? Let us know your take!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ever wondered why your internet bill stays stubbornly high? A recent clash between [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15,16,17],"class_list":["post-185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-broadband","tag-california","tag-crypto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1332,"href":"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185\/revisions\/1332"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casi.live\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}