by Starting Wednesday, internet users will now have more transparency regarding their broadband services.
The Federal Communications Commission now requires broadband providers to display all information about the price and performance of their services on clear labels.
Alejandro Roark, chief executive of the FCC’s consumer and government affairs bureau, spoke to ABC News’ “Start Here” about the new rule.
START HERE: What should we know about this announcement today?
ALEJANDRO ROARK: Well, good morning, Brad. Very happy to be here today. And I think what’s important to recognize is that infrastructure law is bipartisan, [and] within that law Congress directed the FCC to require [a] broadband provider to display specific and important information, in the form of labels, regarding price and performance in relation to its internet service plan.
So anywhere is considered a point of sale, whether you’re shopping online, on your mobile, [or] whether you are in the store, these must be clearly visible to all consumers.
So they should not be hidden behind five special clicks that you have to reach or make it more difficult, confusing you to get this information. The rules require that those labels be present at the point of sale, and at the point where we are comparison shopping and preparing to make the best choice that meets our family’s needs and our long-term budgets.
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START HERE: What will this label do and what will it look like?
ROARK: The FCC, I think we were smart to borrow the nutrition label model format from food products because we wanted this basic information to be recognizable and easy to understand.
START HERE: And just so we’re clear, the label literally looks like the same format and shape and all that stuff.
ROARK: Exactly. So today, consumers will have simple, easy-to-read facts about price, speed, data allowances and other features of high-speed internet service in advance.
Additionally, by requiring providers to clearly display upfront rates, we try to eliminate the unexpected hidden one-off or recurring fees or other junk fees that can often be buried in a long, confusing statement of terms and conditions. comes — I know it is. I’ve definitely felt — that consumer bill shock when I signed up for a service that was supposed to be great, and then I get my first monthly service [bill] and the prices are completely different.
START HERE: Ah, so, okay. So literally like a food nutrition label, but this will be a broadband nutrition label. When does that come into effect?
ROARK: Well Brad, the latest news happens on this podcast. So I am pleased to say that from today, April 10, 2024, broadband providers are required to display these new broadband nutrition labels at the point of purchase. And all of us will start seeing them everywhere internet services are sold.
START HERE: Is this all just design? Is it just kitsch, or do you think it will have a serious effect? I guess I’m wondering how big this issue is, in real life for many people.
ROARK: From my point of view, this is a kind of market, a tool that is changing the ecosystem.
I think what we know at this point, after the global health crisis, is that, you know, having access to quality internet service is critical to sustaining important aspects of our daily lives. I’m talking about telemedicine. I’m talking about educational opportunities for students, and I’m talking about our ability to engage with the world and seek government services — .
Think of all the essential services that have been moved completely overnight to online, and none of those processes, systems or support is coming back in person. They are waiting online. And it forced us all to face the reality that the internet is an essential tool for our success in the 21st century.
START HERE: But this is what I’m wondering, however, because if this is all about making the internet more accessible, making everything transparent and just easier for consumers around the country to get online, yes programs designed to bring low income. Americans access to broadband internet. I think it’s like 30 bucks a month.
The funding for that program runs out at the end of this month, and I’m sure the FCC would be like, “Yeah, we’d love for Congress to pass a law about that,” but the FCC can impose it. fees for broadband companies to be paid into a pot. I think it’s the Universal Service Fund for these kinds of lifelines for these communities. So, I mean, will the FCC do that?
ROARK: So I will say that this particular program, the Emergency Broadband Benefits program, which was a COVID emergency response program, was really designed to make sure that everybody had the ability, regardless of their ZIP code or their position economic, registration. for the internet service they need.
Again, just for basic engagement. The Affordable Connectivity Program since then, over the past two years, has done more to close our country’s digital opportunity divide than any other single effort in our nation’s history.
Currently, over 23 million families are enrolled in the program across all 50 states, territories and federally recognized tribal lands and the success, reach and impact of the program is unquestionable.
But we know, as you mentioned, without action from Congress regarding appropriate new funding for the program, it is projected that the Affordable Connectivity Program will run out of funding by the end of April, which means that millions of families without the internet connections we all depend on. on.
Currently, Congress is considering the best way to provide sustainable, long-term funding for the program. But also, I think in this moment, they are also thinking, what are we going to do in the meantime? April, the end of April, is around the corner.
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START HERE: Like, why can’t you enact some of these fees on broadband providers, I guess?
ROARK: Yes. And so I think that’s all still being negotiated. I think the Universal Service Program has been going on for a long time, and there is a lot of debate and a lot of conversation about: Can we adapt this program to meet the funding needs of the Affordable Connectivity Program.
And that’s something that Congress is discussing right now with consumer advocates, and we’re at the table making sure that whatever comes out of that process hits American consumers where they are. And we know that 23 million families are currently registered, and many more are still eligible to register for this program.
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The internet service now comes with ‘nutrition label’ style information about prices that originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
