en.Wedoany.com Reported - AT&T has resumed offering fixed wireless service in New York State. A company spokesperson confirmed the news via email.

In January 2025, the wireless carrier halted fixed wireless service in the state to protest a state law that caps broadband rates for low-income households. AT&T does not own a wired network in New York, effectively exiting the state's home broadband market. Broadband industry groups cited AT&T's withdrawal as an example in an attempt to persuade the Supreme Court to strike down the law, arguing that the risk of internet service providers (ISPs) leaving the state "has now become a reality." The Supreme Court declined to hear the legal challenge last year, allowing the law to remain in effect.

The spokesperson stated that AT&T resumed service in the state earlier this year but did not provide specific subscriber numbers for New York.

The controversial Affordable Broadband Act (ABA) sets a monthly price cap of $20 for broadband for households participating in programs such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and Medicaid. ISPs with fewer than 20,000 subscribers are temporarily exempt, but large ISPs subject to the law cover 95% of households and businesses in the state. This is currently the only state law of its kind in effect. Legislators in California considered a similar bill but abandoned the effort last year.

California lawmakers dropped the bill because, under Trump administration rules, ISPs participating in the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program must be exempt from state-level rate regulation laws. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) informed California lawmakers that any ISP receiving BEAD funding in the state must be exempt across its entire service area within the state to avoid jeopardizing California's $1.8 billion grant. The NTIA also wanted BEAD participants to be exempt from the ABA, but this did not include AT&T, as the carrier did not receive BEAD funding in the state.

Days after New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, issued a statement saying BEAD was "moving forward in parallel with the ABA" in the state, the NTIA released a memo urging ISPs to notify the agency if states circumvent its policies. As of May, New York was still negotiating contracts with BEAD ISPs, with exemption clauses to be explicitly stated in those contracts. Other providers with extensive operations in the state, such as Verizon and Charter, did receive BEAD funding. New York's utility regulator stated in 2024 that these ISPs already offer low-income plans that match or are similar to the ABA program.