Shopping for Internet Plans Can Be Confusing.
New Rules Will Simplify It
Broadband ‘nutrition labels’ will look like ones on food, let you compare features, prices
By Edward C. Baig, AARP
Published November 22, 2022
/ Updated February 26, 2024
"Most people instantly recognize the nutrition labels on packaging that let you know the calories, cholesterol and fat content in processed foods and beverages.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hopes to bring similar transparency to people shopping for high-speed internet access. New rules from the agency will require internet service providers (ISPs) across the country to display uniform broadband information inspired by the Food and Drug Administration’s Nutrition Facts labeling.
The goal is to let consumers compare. These rules are set to go into effect April 10 for most ISPs, though providers with fewer than 100,000 subscribers have until Oct. 10. They meet requirements in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that President Biden signed into law in 2021.
The labels will apply to at-home internet and wireless broadband plans. The FCC adopted one label requiring the same information and in the same format for both fixed and mobile broadband service offerings.
And these labels will be available for broadband plans aimed at new customers. The FCC is not requiring companies to create labels for plans that current customers use but new customers can’t buy, so trying to compare a plan that you’ve had for a long time with a newer offering may not be easy.
“The visual aspect of it really helps in our opinion, especially for an older person because they’re so accustomed to nutrition labels,” says Dawit Kahsai, AARP’s government affairs director."
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