The FCC's nearly eight-year battle to require Internet companies to display information about the costs, fees and speeds of their broadband services appears to have finally ended. The regulator announced that from Wednesday, all but the smallest ISPs will be required to post broadband “feeder labels” on all their plans. The FCC's goal behind the labels is that they will allow consumers to comparison shop between plans more easily and avoid any hidden fees.
Next time you're shopping for a fixed or standalone home internet plan, or a new mobile broadband plan, you should notice a sticker like this. Each poster will include monthly broadband prices, details of introductory rates, data allowances, broadband speeds, and links to see any discounts or service bundles available. Links to network management practices and privacy policies should also be included. Posters should appear online and in physical stores.
Most of the information on labels is available to the public but requires some time and research for the average consumer to discover. In the past, the broadband industry has published advertised speeds for broadband plans that misrepresent the actual connection speeds available to most customers. New labels should reduce this practice; ISPs must now publish “typical” download and upload speeds with every plan.
Major broadband providers have Fight hard over the years to kill al-Qaeda, arguing that such classifications would be too expensive and complex to implement. Some consumer advocates also criticize the FCC for not addressing the more serious problem of regional broadband monopolies. Many Americans, especially in rural or less economically prosperous areas, have only one or two options for a broadband provider. Adding to the sense of urgency, a program that gives low-income Americans extra money to buy broadband internet plans is set to expire at the end of the month.
Regional ISPs with only one or no competitor have little or no incentive to lower their prices or improve their speeds. Dozens of cities have tried to address the problem themselves by building their own municipal broadband networks, although the telecommunications industry is doing its best to fight the problem.
Until now, Verizon, Google ViberAnd T-Mobile Posters released before deadline. Although the FCC. Official deadline Compliance (if you are a large ISP) is April 10, small ISPs (with less than 100,000 lines) have until October 10 to implement nutritional labeling.
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