The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued new labeling rules for broadband equipment and services to help consumers more fully understand and compare the feature and costs of comparable offerings.
Under the scope of a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the Commission, broadband service providers will now be required to display key information, such as speeds, data allowances, prices, and other fees, at the point of sale of both wireless and wired services. The Report and Order also includes a template of the required label, which is similar to the widely used nutrition labels for food products.
Broadband service providers will be required to display the label in close proximity to any advertisement for broadband services, as well as on their online account portal. Service providers will also be required to provide the label to an existing customer upon request.
The effective date of the FCC’s new labeling requirement for broadband services is pending.
Read the FCC’s Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding consumer information labels.
