On March 9, NDIA submitted comments to the FCC regarding the implementation of Section 60504 of the Infrastructure Act, which requires internet service providers to display consumer broadband labels for their internet service plans.
Section 60504 of the Infrastructure Act directs the FCC to establish rules to require the display of broadband consumer labels, as described in the Public Notice of the FCC issued on April 4, 2016 (DA 16–357), to disclose to consumers information regarding broadband internet access service plans.
In accordance with this section, on January 27th, 2022, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that invites public comment on the implementation of Section 60504.
NDIA’s comments to the FCC advocate for the:
1) Proper enforcement of providers’ label obligations, including the creation of a dedicated staff group with the responsibility to investigate consumer complaints about provider labels and recommend enforcement action.
2) Broad public access to consumer broadband label information, which involves consumer labels being displayed, on provider websites or otherwise, in ways that make them accessible to all members of the public, whether or not they are current or prospective customers of the provider in question.
3) Public availability of simple, verifiable “bottom line” numbers for key consumer comparables, which include the total monthly cost of service (before and after new-customer discounts), the total one-time cost of service acquisition, and the promised upload and download speeds.
NDIA also encouraged the FCC to consider creating an “ACP Equity Badge” for ACP-participant providers to attach to all their consumer broadband labels. These badges would indicate to consumers that the provider is participating in ACP and contain other brief pieces of information, including a link to the FCC’s ACP webpage.
You can read NDIA’s broadband consumer label comments here.