FCC Implements New Broadband Consumer Labels

The Federal Communications Commission has announced dates by which consumers will see new Broadband Consumer Labels when they shop for services: The majority of providers must display at the point of sale clear, easy-to-understand, and accurate information about the cost and performance of broadband services by April 10, 2024. Providers with 100,000 or fewer subscriber lines must do so by October 10, 2024. Those points of sale include online and in-store.

The FCC rules adopted in the Broadband Label Order respond to direction in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for the FCC to require providers to create consumer-friendly labels with information about their broadband services. The labels must disclose important information about broadband prices, introductory rates, data allowances, and broadband speeds. They must also include links to information about network management practices and privacy policies.

Note: While the initial Rules required providers to include information about their participation in the ACP, due to a lack of additional funding from Congress, April 2024 is the last fully funded month of the ACP benefit. As such, this requirement has been updated to reflect the anticipated end of the program. Learn more in this Public Notice: https://www.fcc.gov/document/wcb-announces-final-month-affordable-connectivity-program-acp

In addition to creating a unique label for each service plan offered, providers must also make the information in the labels machine-readable to enable third parties to more easily collect and aggregate data for the purpose of creating comparison-shopping tools for consumers.

The new Broadband Labels are designed to provide clear, easy-to-understand, and accurate information about the cost and performance of high-speed internet services. The labels are modeled after the FDA nutrition labels and are intended to help consumers comparison shop for the internet service plan that will best meet their needs and budget. Internet service providers that offer home, or fixed, internet services, or mobile broadband plans are required to have a label for each service plan they offer.

Consumers should look for broadband labels at any point of sale, including online and in stores. The labels must disclose important information about broadband prices, introductory rates, data allowances, and broadband speeds. They also include links to information about network management practices and privacy policies.

A glossary is available to help consumers better understand the information displayed on the label. To review a sample home internet, or fixed, label created by the FCC, download the home internet label in PDF format. You can also review a sample mobile broadband label in PDF format.

While many providers will begin displaying their labels in April, providers with less than 100,000 subscribers have until Oct. 10, 2024, to comply with the FCC rules to display broadband labels at their points of sale.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act directed the FCC to require providers to display consumer-friendly labels with information about their broadband services. The adopted rules require broadband providers to display, at the point of sale, labels displaying key information consumers want − prices, speeds, fees, data allowances, and other critical information. The labels resemble the well-known nutrition labels that appear on food products and, to ensure the label benefits all consumers, the Commission adopted language and accessibility requirements for the label's display.

The current broadband labels rules require several features designed to empower consumers as follows:

• Prominent Display. The Order ensures that consumers see their actual label when purchasing broadband by requiring providers to display the label – not simply an icon or link to the label – in close proximity to an associated plan advertisement.

• Account Portals. The Order requires ISPs to make each customer's label easily accessible to the customer in their online account portal, as well as to provide the label to an existing customer upon request.

• Machine Readability. To further assist with comparison shopping, the Order requires that providers make the information in the labels machine-readable to enable third parties to more easily collect and aggregate data for the purpose of creating comparison-shopping tools for consumers.
  

Included in the adopted rules was an annotated sample of the label available at this link: https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/Broadband-Label-Sample_1500.png.The rules also included a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking exploring ways the FCC can refine and improve its rules in order to ensure that we further our consumer transparency goals.

Public Hearings on the Proposed Rules

The Infrastructure Act required the FCC to adopt regulations within a year of its passage and to conduct a series of public hearings to help inform the labeling requirements.

The FCC held three public hearings as a part of its broadband consumer labels rulemaking proceeding. The hearings assessed how consumers evaluate internet service plans and whether current disclosures are sufficient.

The first hearing took place March 11, 2022. The purpose of the first hearing was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Commission's existing transparency rule and provide necessary background for the new label requirement, including whether additional disclosure requirements were necessary.

A second hearing was held April 7, 2022. The second hearing focused directly on consumer testimony and explored in greater detail how information is conveyed and considered by consumers.

A third hearing was held May 25, 2022. The third hearing focused on the experiences of digital navigators working with consumers to select broadband plans, federal agency representatives discussing lessons learned from existing federal government labels, and advocates working to meet the needs of the disability community while exploring how information is conveyed and considered by consumers.

The hearings were streamed free to the public at FCC.gov/live, were recorded and are archived on the FCC's website.

Comments on Proposal

In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC sought comment on a number topics, including the following:

• Have broadband service offerings and consumers' use of broadband services changed sufficiently since the Commission approved labels in 2016 to necessitate modifications to the labels' content and/or format, or whether there are any other reasons to change the content or format of the labels?

• Where should the labels be displayed to best inform consumers?

• How should the Commission enforce the label requirement and ensure the accuracy of label content?

The FCC also sought comment on implementation issues, including the time by which broadband providers should be required to display the labels. The comments period closed on March 24, 2022.

On July 18, 2023, the Commission released an Order to update the template for the recently adopted broadband consumer label.

The revised label template reflects a new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) application landing page available at GetInternet.gov, and clarifies that if a provider is required to display a Spanish version of the label, it must include the Spanish-language landing page for the ACP, AccedeaInternet.gov.

This action does not modify or otherwise change any entity's underlying responsibilities under the Broadband Label Order.

On March 4, 2024, the FCC issued a Public Notice that removed the requirement for inclusion of the reference to ACP participation. The ACP is winding down due to lack of funding to continue the program.