Broadband Nutrition
I'm not particularly familiar with the topic as I haven't looked at new broadband plans in the past few years*, but I stumbled on some blurbs about an FCC vote that supposedly tests the waters for simplifying the "nutrition labels" currently required for broadband and mobile plans. I haven't been able to find a lot of information on the recent discussion and vote. One article mentioned that the requirement is not always being adhered to currently, and that generally speaking, ISPs were against the requirement being implemented.
The image attached is a sample of the information required on the label you would see when purchasing or comparing broadband plans. Note that in addition to itemized fees, typical up and down speeds, and latency are included. I don't believe latency was a required data point when I last purchased a broadband package. I'll link the FCC pages and some articles below.
*one of the articles mentioned that xfinity (that is our carrier) does show the appropriate info for new plans, but not consistently when comparing plans for changing your service; we recently changed our plan tier, and I do not believe this label had been displayed.
I did try to keep the above as impartial as I could. My opinion on the topic though is that mobile and broadband carriers are both as shady as they are allowed to be. They may argue that transparency regulation is wasteful, but you can rest assured that they have the information down to the penny, Mbps and ms already, and displaying it on a computer screen for you to compare is not costing them anything tangible.
I've seen some other opinions that the goal may be to undermine the usefulness of the label by watering it down, and then eventually being able to say "it's not helping anyone, so we may as well eliminate it entirely."
Official FCC Links
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Broadband Consumer Labels
Communications regarding the proposed changes
Articles
LightReading.com:
Broadband labels back on FCC's to-do list
CNET.com:
Trump's FCC Just Made It Easier for Internet Providers to Hide Fees
BroadbandBreakfast.com:
FCC to Examine Broadband Nutrition Labels at October Meeting
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