A Consumer-Driven Broadband Label Design

In January 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which proposed requiring internet service providers to display broadband consumer disclosure labels prominently at the point of sale. In response to the FCC’s request for comment, the CyLab Usable Privacy and Security Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University conducted a large-scale user study to gain insight into what information is most important to US consumers when shopping for broadband internet services as well as what terminology and presentation formats make this information most understandable and useful to consumers. In addition, we examined the FCC’s proposed 2016 broadband consumer label formats and proposed our own broadband consumer disclosure label formats. We surveyed broadband internet consumers in a two-phase online study, recruiting from a diverse pool of 32,000 consumers who had previously participated in Consumer Reports’ consumer initiatives related to broadband internet. Across both survey phases, we received a combined total of over 2,500 completed surveys. In the first phase, we evaluated the 2016 labels to gain insights into what information was most important to consumers and what information caused confusion. We then created new label designs based on our results from the first phase. In the second phase, we compared the effectiveness of our new label designs with the 2016 labels. After analyzing our survey results, we made further revisions to our new label designs. Among many recommendations following the study, one key recommendation is that broadband labels should include a range of information valued by consumers but should highlight the information they value most, including information on cost, speed, and reliability.

[Dr. Jon Peha is a professor of electrical & computer engineering and of engineering & public policy at Carnegie Mellon University and the former chief technologist at the FCC.]