- 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.
