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Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The FCC has mandated new broadband “nutrition labels” for all wired and wireless Internet service providers (ISPs).
- These labels, similar to ingredient lists on food products, should clearly break down the plan’s cost, speed, and hidden charges.
- Today was the deadline for deployment, so you can see it posted on the carrier’s website.
Starting today, T-Mobile and other Internet Service Providers (ISPs) across the United States will begin displaying broadband fact labels based on new federal regulations. These “nutrition labels” are intended to provide consumers with transparency into what they are paying for when they sign up for broadband services, including both wired and wireless services.
According to the FCC, this initiative aims to eliminate surprises on your monthly bills. President Biden highlighted this aspect in his recent announcement in an effort to combat “junk fees.”
These labels do not completely eliminate hidden claims, but they do make them much more difficult to conceal. The FCC requires disclosure of “key information about broadband prices, introductory fees, data allowances, and broadband speeds.” Additionally, links to network administration and privacy policies are required.
For consumers, labels are a treasure trove of valuable data. Consumers can now more easily compare plans from different providers, taking all costs and potential performance limitations into account up front. For example, T-Mobile’s labels reveal surprisingly small differences in potential speeds between low-priority and prioritized data plans.
In addition to T-Mobile, Verizon and Google Fi also list these broadband labels on their websites. These FCC-mandated labels are intentionally designed to resemble nutrition labels on food packages, as seen in the example above.
The label comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA), a $1.2 trillion package that includes provisions for multiple sectors, including broadband infrastructure. This law charged the FCC with creating labels to help consumers make informed choices when selecting broadband plans.
Large ISPs with more than 100,000 subscribers were given an April 10, 2024 deadline to implement the label. Smaller ISPs have a little more time and have until October 2024 to be fully compliant. The FCC has not yet announced specific penalties for noncompliance.
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