The reason long-distance communication still occurs at subluminal speeds, even if individuals have access to faster-than-light (FTL) drives, is because the technology required for FTL travel does not necessarily imply the ability to achieve real-time FTL communication.
FTL travel and FTL communication are separate concepts that may have different underlying mechanisms and technological requirements. While speculative concepts like wormholes or warp drives are often associated with FTL travel, they do not necessarily enable FTL communication.
Even if individuals possess FTL drives capable of transporting them faster than the speed of light, it doesn't mean they automatically have the means to transmit information faster than light. The communication systems, such as lasers or other methods used for transmitting signals, may still be limited by the speed of light.
In many hypothetical FTL scenarios, information transfer is still constrained by the limitations of light speed. It means that even if a civilization has FTL travel technology, they would still need to rely on subluminal communication methods for real-time communication over long distances.
While it is theoretically possible to conceive of alternative forms of communication that could potentially operate faster than light, such concepts are currently speculative and not supported by our current understanding of physics.