FCC to Make Broadband Labels a More Useful Consumer Tool

The Federal Communications Commission improved the FCC’s broadband labels, making them a more useful tool for consumers and reducing compliance burdens on providers. The Report and Order will ensure consumers have access to clear, accurate, and concise information about the broadband plans available to them. In 2021, Congress directed the Commission to enact rules to require the display of broadband consumer labels to disclose to consumers information regarding the broadband plans offered by broadband internet access service providers. The Commission’s initial broadband label rules, adopted in 2022, resulted in sometimes-confusing labels that strayed beyond the statutory framework Congress created, increasing compliance costs for providers in the process. The newly adopted Report and Order will refocus the rules and minimize some of the confusion and frustration that consumers have had with the labels.