February saw the deadlines for comments in the ACP data transparency, consumer broadband nutrition labels, and digital discrimination dockets pass. Each of the dockets focuses on a critical aspect of consumer protection, data collection, or transparency. NCC recently met with the Office of FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on February 28, 2023, to share our latest  filings and suggestions on how to promote equitable broadband deployment and data transparency. Specifically, NCC explained: 

• Subscriber-level data collection will provide a clearer view of the success of the Affordable Connectivity Program than an aggregated data collection.

• The consumer broadband nutrition label should include average speed metrics, all applicable discounts a consumer is eligible to receive, and the state and local taxes. 

• Addressing digital discrimination requires the Commission to place as much emphasis on price discrimination as it has on infrastructure discrimination. Creating a new quasi-formal complaint process for states and localities to report inequities provides key collaboration opportunities between local officials and community leaders and the Commission. 

As states develop plans to spend the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funds, each of these dockets will play an important role in informing them. Promoting large-scale granular data collection, broad digital discrimination rules, and detailed broadband nutrition labels will help states understand exactly how their communities connect. 

You can read the ex parte as filed here.