By Brian Donoghue

As internet access completes the shift from a luxury to a utility, consumers need to know what they are signing up for in a broadband subscription. The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) is evaluating what consumers need in broadband nutrition labels. In short, the labels would allow customers to easily view a broadband plan’s speeds and costs as if they were looking at a cereal’s sugar content. 

Next Century Cities met with the Office of Commissioner Geoffrey Starks to make recommendations on where broadband labels should be made publicly available and what information should be included. 

First, the labels should be available not only online but also on paper in stores and at every point of the purchasing process. This level of transparency will allow consumers to make more informed choices when selecting a provider. 

Second, making the labels machine-readable will enable consumers and third parties to aggregate information from different providers more easily. These databases would simplify the customer’s decision-making process as they would be able to compare similar plans quickly and effectively.  

Third, adding information about latency, as lags in audio or video can be frustrating to those working from home or just trying to catch up on a new hit show. Consumers should not be expected to be broadband experts. Thus, NCC recommended that the FCC create an accompanying glossary or explainer for terms used on the labels. Since the goal of these labels is to create more transparency, it is crucial that consumers understand the information contained therein.

NCC has made these recommendations based on the feedback of local leaders because we know that you understand your communities best. Please reach out to Ryan Johnston, Policy Counsel, Federal Programs, if there is anything else you would want to see on the label itself or included in the implementation of this program. He can be reached at ryan@nextcenturycities.org. 

Read the ex parte here.