FCC offers food label-like model for consumer broadband disclosures


Ars Technica:

ISPs aren't required to use these labels. But they are required to make more specific disclosures as part of transparency requirements in the FCC's net neutrality order, which reclassified Internet providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act. The FCC recommends that ISPs use these labels to comply with the disclosure rules and says use of the labels will act as a "safe harbor" for demonstrating compliance. However, ISPs can come up with their own format if they still make all the required disclosures in "an accurate, understandable, and easy-to-find manner."

This is a great idea and I like the consumer-friendly template. Whatever format, it will be interesting to see everything laid out for consumers. Biggest issue, however, maybe the limited competition for broadband. In many markets there's a single cable company with a franchise agreement with only generally inferior DSL options available as competition.

Still, there's some info on here that would be very good to just know about your ISP. For example, spelling out all the fees in addition to rate plans. While not a guarantee with similar performance measures like up and download speeds, listing latency and packet loss tolerances is great for consumers to understand reasonable performance. I also like disclosures regarding network management and how the ISP may affect performance of some services.