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Jun 02, 2023

FCC Rejects Petition to Reconsider Broadband Consumer Label Rules

A petition called for broadband consumer label to not require providers to disclose monthly fees. Published on By WASHINGTON, August 29, 2023 – The Federal Communications Commission largely rejected

A petition called for broadband consumer label to not require providers to disclose monthly fees.

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WASHINGTON, August 29, 2023 – The Federal Communications Commission largely rejected petitions to reconsider its Broadband Consumer Label rules Tuesday.

“Today’s action preserves consumer access to clear, easy-to-understand and accurate information about the cost and performance of broadband services,” read the press release.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that “every consumer needs transparent information when making decision about what internet service offering makes the most sense for their family or household. No one wants to be hit with charges they didn’t ask for or they did not expect. That’s why Broadband Consumer Labels are so important.”

The broadband labels were adopted as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which requires that broadband internet service providers display labels at the point of sale that disclose information about broadband prices, introductory rates, data allowances and broadband speeds. Additionally, the labels provide information about network management practices, privacy policies and the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program which subsidizes high-speed internet subscriptions for low-income households.

Experts disagree, however, on whether the labels should require more data from internet service providers. The FCC released proposed rules in July that would add additional requirements to the nutrition labels, to which several providers and associations expressed that the additional rules would place undue burden on small providers and would not improve data.

Others said that the increased requirements would improve user experience, calling the current requirements inadequate to provide data as comprehensive as is necessary.

A petition jointly filed by broadband advocacy groups ACA Connects, CTIA, NCTA, NTCA, and USTelecom in January called for the FCC do not require that providers disclose monthly fees or that they instead display an “up to” price for certain fees they choose to pass through to consumers. They also requested that the providers include details about data allowances on the label.

In response to petitions that the FCC clarify or reconsider certain label requirements, the FCC reaffirmed its original requirement that providers display all monthly fees with respect to broadband service on the label. It said that such requirements will “provide consumers with clear and accurate information about the cost of their broadband service.”

Broadband labels have received criticism from the industry, with some claiming that it needs to incorporate average speeds of internet packets instead of just typical speeds.

FCC Adopts Order to Extend $75 Monthly ACP Subsidy to Households in High-Cost Areas

Teralyn Whipple, who joined Broadband Breakfast in 2022, studied marketing at Brigham Young University. She has reported extensively on broadband infrastructure, investments and deployment. She has also headed marketing campaigns for several small companies.

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The benefit would go beyond tribes to other high cost locations.

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WASHINGTON, August 3, 2023 – The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday adopted an order to increase Affordable Connectivity Program subsidies from $30 to $75 per month for eligible households in high-cost locations.

As outlined in the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act, the FCC is tasked with distributing the $14 billion in ACP funding to help low-income households gain access to affordable internet connections. The benefits include a one-time $100 discount on internet devices and a monthly discount of $30 or $75. Historically, the $75 discount has only been available to those living on tribal lands.

However, the FCC’s adoption would expand the benefit beyond tribes to other high-cost locations, based on the data the National Telecommunications and Information Administration would provide as part of its management of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program, said the FCC.

The $75 discounts assist providers who can demonstrate that the standard $30 monthly benefit would place them in “particularized economic hardship” and make it impossible for them to maintain parts or all of their network in hard-to-reach areas.

This would not only incentivize providers to participate in the ACP, especially in rural areas, but also spur deployment and adoption by strengthening the business case for providers to deploy broadband in those areas, said the agency.

The order would also establish the framework for evaluating and deciding on providers’ economic hardship submissions and require approved providers to submit an annual economic hardship showing to maintain eligibility.

Despite concerns that funding might dry up in early 2024, the agency announced that ACP has connected more than 19.8 million out of the 48.6 million eligible households, an increase of more than one million over last June’s data. Out of those 19.8 million, 2.8 million are living in rural regions, said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

“ACP’s continued success in rural America will do more than help millions of rural families get and stay connected,” said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, reiterating the belief that an enhanced ACP benefit would also “spell good news” for rural deployment efforts, especially the BEAD program.

As part of the meeting’s agenda, the commission also pushed forward an order to launch a technical inquiry to better understand the non-federal spectrum usage data. In particular, it will look at the possibility of adopting new technology, including artificial intelligence, to guide spectrum-related decision making.

The commission also approved a record $300-million penalty against an international robocall network, which targeted over half-a-billion Americans with five billion illegal phone calls during a three-month period in 2021. This marks the commission’s most recent effort to crack down on mobile fraud, particularly targeting issues such as robocalls and robotexts.

Rules can increase the burden on small providers.

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WASHINGTON, July 28, 2023 – Experts disagreed on whether the Federal Communications Commission should require more data from internet service providers for broadband “nutrition” labels at a Broadband Breakfast Live Online event Wednesday.

The broadband nutrition label, as mandated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, requires broadband providers to display at the point of sale a label that shows prices, introductory rates, speeds, data allowances, and other critical broadband service information.

The FCC released proposed rules on July 18 that would add additional requirements to the nutrition labels, to which several providers and associations expressed that the additional rules would place undue burden on small providers and would not improve data, said Steve Coran, chair of Lerman Senter’s broadband at the Spectrum and Communications Infrastructure practice group.

Data requirements as currently outlined by the FCC are balanced, clear and easy and will promote transparency, said Coran. In response to responses from providers, the FCC increased its estimation that the proposed rulemaking would create between 1 and 9 hours of annual burden on providers to a range of 1.5 to 65 hours, he said.

However, Ryan Johnston, senior policy counsel at municipality public interest nonprofit Next Century Cities, warned that the label requirements will not provide data as comprehensive as is necessary. As currently written, providers are allowed to report the “typical” speeds that each location receives. These ranges provide no certainty and is “more ethereal than the maximum advertised speed,” said Johnston.

Additionally, the FCC failed to include the measurements that consumers want to see, include more precise pricing models, promotion lengths, and expected bill after promotions are done, said Johnston. He urged the FCC to require providers to report the average speed.

Joshua Stager, policy director at Free Press, agreed, saying that the core issue for consumers is to address bill shock, referring to the uncertainty around internet bills and the detrimental effect it has on low-income households. For this reason, he urged the FCC to ensure that consumers will be able to access the label.

Stager said that the FCC declined to require that the label be put on the monthly bill. He warned that providers can hide the label from consumers which will result in a lack of market response simply because consumers are not aware that the label exists.

Discriminatory pricing in the industry is blatantly obvious, said Sascha Meinrath, Palmer Chair in telecommunications at Penn State University. “The FCC consistently refuses to collect the kind of information that would exonerate ISPs or condemn them,” he stated.

Sascha Meinrath

He warned that this lack of appropriate data collection will be to the detriment of consumers. He accused the FCC of refusing to act against discriminatory and predatory pricing, claiming that it is a prime example of “American corruption.”

Meinrath, who assisted in the initial proposal for the nutrition labels, said that the goal of the labels was to provide customers with information on the minimum services they will expect to see. He claimed that the current nutrition labels are insufficient and do not achieve those goals.

Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation.

Wednesday, July 26, 2023 – Broadband Nutrition Labels: Have They Improved?

In late 2022, the Federal Communications Commission required internet service providers to display broadband “nutrition” labels including speeds, service reliability, ACP participation and other relevant metrics at every point of sale. While there is consensus on the need for an informative and consumer-friendly label, some believe the requirements go too far or don’t go far enough. With federal broadband funding making its way to each state and the implementation phase just around the corner, the “nutrition labels” will soon become a reality. What might be the FCC’s next steps? How will the requirements affect broadband providers? How can consumers make sure they order from the right broadband “menu”?

Panelists

Ryan Johnson is responsible for NCC’s federal policy portfolio, building and maintaining relationships with Federal Commissions Commission officials, members of Congress and staff, and public interest allies. Working with various federal agencies, Ryan submits filings on behalf of NCC members on technology and telecommunications related issues that impact the digital divide such as broadband data mapping, benchmark speeds, spectrum policy, content moderation, privacy, and others.

Steve Coran is chair of Lerman Senter’s Broadband, Spectrum and Communications Infrastructure practice group. He represents broadband providers, private equity firms, equipment and technology companies, and new technology firms, serving their policy, transactional, compliance, and licensing needs. He also actively represents a trade association before the FCC, Congress, and other federal agencies in matters involving spectrum policy, Internet regulation, the Universal Service Fund, and other proceedings affecting wireless broadband service providers and other wireless technology interests.

Joshua Stager is the policy director at Free Press, where he advances policies to close the digital divide, protect consumers, and make the broadband market competitive and affordable. As a public interest advocate and attorney, he works closely with industry, Congress, the FCC and other federal agencies. He previously was deputy director of the Open Technology Institute.

Drew Clark is CEO of Breakfast Media LLC. He has led the Broadband Breakfast community since 2008. An early proponent of better broadband, better lives, he initially founded the Broadband Census crowdsourcing campaign for broadband data. As Editor and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media company advocating for higher-capacity internet everywhere through topical, timely and intelligent coverage. Clark also served as head of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a state broadband initiative.

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The FCC broadened the E-rate eligibility to tribal colleges used as public libraries.

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WASHINGTON, July 20, 2023 – The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday adopted an order to expand tribal access to funding under the E-rate program, which supports schools and libraries in economically disadvantaged communities to obtain affordable internet services.

The order expands E-rate eligibility to libraries in tribal colleges that also serve as public libraries. Currently, eligible libraries under the program have to maintain budgets “completely separate from any schools” to ensure the limited funding would not be diverted to higher education institutions. However, tribal leaders have long argued that this rule unfairly targets their communities since many tribal towns rely only on college libraries as their public library.

“Today’s decision goes a long way to clear some of the regulatory underbrush that can allow a lot of these institutions to leverage E-rate in a way that will make sense in light of those unique features,” said FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr.

Additionally, the commission agreed to raise the discount rate and more than double the funding floor for tribal schools and libraries to obtain certain services and equipment. It would also add a tribal representative to the Universal Service Administrative Company, the body overseeing the Universal Service Fund under which E-rate operates.

To further assist tribal libraries with the E-rate application process, the tribal pilot program launched in 2022 would be extended for another year. The commission continued to seek further comments to simplify E-rate process for tribal communities.

“Facilitating tribal participation in universal service programs, like E-Rate, is an important step towards closing the digital divide in some of the most underserved communities in our nation,” said Kathleen Burke, policy counsel at the non-profit Public Knowledge in a press release Thursday. “We applaud the commission for continuing to build on its efforts to ensure that Tribal libraries are able to access E-Rate funds.”

This adoption contributes to the ongoing discussion about the potential for the E-rate program to be extended beyond its present scope to offer WiFi on school buses and address cybersecurity issues.

Commission members also voted on an order to allow existing low-power television stations to continue to offer analog FM radio services on channel 6 on a non-interference basis with other digital services or channels.

The commission also approved another order to enhance the operation of the 988 mental health hotline in the event of service interruptions. Telecom providers would have to promptly report any outages that might cause a loss of 900,000 user-minutes and last at least 30 minutes to the commission and other 988 administrators.

All items on the agenda were quickly enacted without objections or further amendments.

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