Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The FCC has proposed new rules that would let ISPs stop itemizing certain additional fees and instead disclose them as a single “up to” charge.
- Current rules require providers to itemize monthly passthrough fees on broadband labels so consumers can better understand what they’ll pay.
- ISPs would also no longer have to provide broadband labels in a machine-readable format, and could link to labels instead of displaying them directly on ordering pages.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently proposed new robocall rules that many critics called a privacy threat. Now, the FCC has turned its sights on broadband plans with a new set of rules that could make it easier for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to profit while confusing consumers.
The FCC is going to vote on a draft order that will allow ISPs to bundle many additional passthrough fees into a single “up to” amount (via Ars Technica). This would be a major reversal of the existing rules adopted under the Biden administration. Those rules required ISPs to list monthly passthrough fees separately rather than combining them into a single figure, making it easier for consumers to understand the actual price they’ll pay for their internet services.
A passthrough fee is an extra charge that an ISP adds to your bill to recover costs it says were imposed by third parties or local governments.
The draft rules proposed by the FCC now could make it more difficult for consumers to find the exact amount they’ll be required to pay. The proposal would also make broadband labels less prominent by allowing ISPs to link to them rather than display them directly on ordering pages. Those labels would also be allowed to show an aggregate passthrough fee rather than an itemized breakdown.
The FCC’s draft order states:
When a provider places an icon or link next to the advertised plan and that icon or link connects directly to that plan’s label, the consumer is a mere single click away from the label.
For consumers trying to sign up via phone, the process could get more confusing as well. Under the proposed FCC rules, an ISP’s phone agent need not provide any pricing details beyond the ISP’s aggregate “up to” price. If a consumer wants a detailed breakdown of the costs, the agent can direct them to find it on the company’s website.
The FCC’s order states that some commenters urged the FCC to require ISPs’ phone agents to provide a detailed label upon request. The draft further adds, “We decline to do so, but encourage providers to direct consumers to the labels on the provider’s website.”
Further, ISPs will no longer be required to maintain archived records of plans that are no longer available to users. ISPs will also not have to provide pricing details in a machine-readable format. Both of these changes can make it difficult for users to compare how plans and offerings have changed over the years, or to easily compare plans offered by different ISPs.
The FCC started drafting these new rules last year. It will vote on the proposed rules on July 22, and the rules will go into effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
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