FCC Broadband Label Order Published In Federal Register; Compliance Delayed Indefinitely
December 16, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC or Commission) broadband label Report And Order has been published in the Federal Register.[1] Compliance with the new rules, however, has been delayed indefinitely.
After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reviews and ultimately approves the new broadband label rules, the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau will announce compliance dates in a future Public Notice.
In the broadband label Report And Order, the FCC adopted rules requiring “ISPs to display, at the point of sale, labels that disclose certain information about broadband prices, introductory rates, data allowances, and broadband speeds, and to include links to information about their network management practices, privacy policies, and the Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).”[2] The FCC adopted one label requiring the same information and in the same format for both fixed and mobile broadband service offerings.
The Report And Order amends Section 8.1(a) of the FCC’s rules by adding new paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(7).[3] Sections 8.1(a)(1) through (a)(6) contain the substantive rules for the broadband labels. Section 8.1(a)(7) is a paragraph explaining the compliance deadlines for each of the new substantive rules.
The Federal Register publication makes the Report And Order effective on January 17, 2023. However, the Federal Register publication states that “compliance with the amendments to 47 CFR 8.1(a)(1) through (6) of the Commission’s rules are delayed indefinitely. The Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the compliance dates.”
As explained in new Section 8.1(a)(7), compliance dates for the new broadband label rules will not be announced until after OMB completes a review of requirements 8.1(a)(1) through (a)(6) pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act or until after the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau determines that such review is not required. Even after an effective date is announced, the compliance date will be one year after the effective date for providers with 100,000 or fewer subscriber lines, and six months after the effective date for all other providers, except that the compliance date for Section 8.1(a)(3) of will be one year after the effective date for all providers. The compliance date for the requirement in 8.1(a)(2) to make broadband labels accessible in online account portals will be one year after the effective date for all providers. Although, after OMB approval, it’s possible the FCC may simply issue compliance dates for all of the rules, rather than an effective date and a compliance date. Nevertheless, it’s necessary to establish an effective date to then determine compliance dates for various rules that follow six months or one year later. Below are the new broadband label rules. The substantive rules are Sections 8.1(a)(1) through (a)(6). Section 8.1(a)(7) is the explanatory paragraph on the various compliance dates.
8.1(a)(1) – Broadband Label General Format
(For Providers With 100,000 Or Fewer Subscriber Lines: Compliance Date Will Be One Year Later)
(For Providers With More Than 100,000 Subscriber Lines: Compliance Date Will Be Six Months Later)
(1) Any person providing broadband internet access service shall create and display an accurate
broadband consumer label for each stand-alone broadband internet access service it currently
offers for purchase. The label must be prominently displayed, publicly available, and easily
accessible to consumers, including consumers with disabilities, at the point of sale with the
content and in the format prescribed by the Commission in “[Fixed or Mobile] Broadband
Consumer Disclosure,” [see label template]
8.1(a)(2) – Point Of Sale Display
(For All Providers: Compliance Date Will Be One Year Later)
(2) Broadband internet access service providers shall display the label required under section 8.1(a)(1) at each point of sale. “Point of sale” is defined to mean a provider’s website and any alternate sales channels through which the provider’s broadband internet access service is sold, including a provider-owned retail location, third-party retail location, and over the phone. For labels displayed on provider websites, the label must be displayed in close proximity to the associated advertised service plan. “Point of sale” also means the time a consumer begins investigating and comparing broadband service offerings available to them at their location. “Point of sale” for purposes of the E-Rate and Rural Health Care programs is defined as the time a service provider submits its bid to a program participant. Providers participating in the E-Rate and Rural Health Care programs must provide their labels to program participants when they submit their bids to participants. Broadband internet access service providers that offer online account portals to their customers shall also make each customer’s label easily accessible to the customer in such portals.
8.1(a)(3) – Machine-Readable Format – Spreadsheet Requirement
(For All Providers: Compliance Date Will Be One Year Later)
(3) The content of the label required under section 8.1(a)(1) must be displayed on the broadband internet access service provider’s website in a machine-readable format. Broadband internet access service providers must provide the information in any label separately in a spreadsheet file format on their websites via a dedicated URL that contains all of their labels. Providers must publicize the URL with the label data in the transparency disclosures required under 47 CFR § 8.1(a).
8.1(a)(4) – Language Requirement
(4) The label required under section 8.1(a)(1) must be provided in English and in any other languages in which the broadband internet access service provider markets its services in the United States.
8.1(a)(5) – ISP Archival Of Broadband Labels Used
(5) Broadband internet access service providers shall maintain an archive of all labels required under section 8.1(a)(1) for a period of no less than two years from the time the service plan reflected in the label is no longer available for purchase by a new subscriber and the provider has removed the label from its website or alternate sales channels. Providers must provide any archived label to the Commission, upon request, within thirty days. Providers must provide an archived label, upon request and within thirty days, to an existing customer whose service plan is associated with the particular label. A provider is not required to display a label once the associated service plan is no longer offered to new subscribers.
8.1(a)(6) – Enforcement Processes & Procedures
(6) Broadband consumer label requirements and the transparency rule in section 8.1(a) are subject to enforcement using the same processes and procedures. The label required under section 8.1(a)(1) is not a safe harbor from the transparency rule or any other requirements established by the Commission.
8.1(a)(7) – Explanation On OMB Approval, Effective Dates, & Compliance Dates
(7) Compliance date: Paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(6) of this section may contain an information-collection and/or recordkeeping requirement. Compliance with paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(6) of this section will not be required until this paragraph (a)(7) is removed or contains a compliance date, which will not occur until after the Office of Management and Budget completes review of such requirements pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act or until after the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau determines that such review is not required. The compliance date will be one year after the removal or amendment of this paragraph for providers with 100,000 or fewer subscriber lines and six months after the removal or amendment of this paragraph for all other providers, except that the compliance date for paragraph (a)(3) of this section will be one year after the removal or amendment of this paragraph for all providers. The compliance date for the requirement in paragraph (a)(2) to make labels accessible in online account portals will be one year after the removal or amendment of this paragraph for all providers. The Commission directs the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau to announce compliance dates for paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(6) of this section by subsequent Public Notice and to cause this section to be revised accordingly.
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[1] 87 Fed. Reg. 241, 76959 (Dec. 16, 2022), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/16/2022-26854/empowering-broadband-consumers-through-transparency.
[2] Empowering Broadband Consumers Through Transparency, CG Docket No. 22-2, Report And Order And Further Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 22-86 (Nov. 17, 2022) (“Report And Order”), https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-22-86A1.pdf.
[3] Report And Order at Appendix A.
