All Broadband Providers Have Labels Requirement by October
All ISPs will be required to display new labels to customers by October 10.
WASHINGTON, September 10, 2024 - The effort by the federal government to inform consumers about the capabilities of their Internet provider will enter a new phase next month. Under rules established by the Federal Communications Commission, Internet service providers with 100,000 or fewer subscriber lines will be required to display new labels for consumers starting October 10.
Those with higher numbers of subscribers were to begin implementing new labels as of April 10.
This change comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which directed the Federal Communications Commission to require ISPs within one year to implement familiar and accessible labels of key information, like pricing and data allowances, regarding broadband services.
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The FCC also had a long-running proceeding pertaining to broadband labels: The Federal Communications Commission issued a mandate in November 2022 requiring ISPs to display the labels.
The labels are reminiscent of the Food and Drug Administration’s nutrition labels and are designed in order to allow customers to shop by comparison for the service plan that would best fit their needs and budget.
To address consumer knowledge issues, the FCC’s broadband rules require that labels be displayed prominently and easily accessible in a provider’s online portal. The labels must also be machine-readable to better enable third parties to collect and analyze data for the purpose of creating comparison tools for customers to use when shopping.
The FCC has also provided annotated samples of labels to improve cohesion among ISPs.
The new labels were also to include information about providers’ participation in the Affordable Connectivity Program. They are no longer required to do so, reflecting the end of the ACP.
New, standardized labels would also give consumers more context as to their choices between ISPs, according to a survey of 33,000 Consumer Reports’ members.
The survey noted that non-standard labels are confusing for customers, and contribute to significant difficulties in terms of comparison shopping.
By way of example, bundles are a common feature in the ISP space that have the potential to confuse customers, as they are often not itemized.
As the new FCC regulations roll out, the agency has noted that customers are able to file complaints with their Customer Inquiries and Complaints Center.
