Tech

FCC aims to stop broadband bill shock, reviving plan nixed by Ajit Pai

An Ethernet cable and fiber optic wires.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Rafe Swan)

The Federal Communications Commission is moving ahead with plans to require broadband “nutrition labels” that include details on the actual price of Internet service and information about data caps and performance.

The consumer labels that home Internet and mobile broadband providers would have to provide at the point of sale will be similar to those adopted simply by the FCC in 2016 . The labels and related rules requiring greater transparency were eliminated under former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, but the Infrastructure Investment plus Jobs Act approved by Congress in November 2021 requires the FCC to issue new rules mandating the display of the consumer labels.

Today’s 4-0 FCC vote approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that seeks public comment on the plan. There’s generally at least a few months between an NPRM and a commission vote to issue final rules. The deadline for initial comments will be 30 days after the particular NPRM is published in typically the Federal Register, and reply comments will be due 45 days after Federal Register publication. The particular docket where comments will be filed can be found here .

Read 10 remaining paragraphs | Comments