Broadband Truth-in-Labeling

The Open Technology Initiative of the New America Foundation is calling for Truth-in-Labeling by our nation's broadband operators. Drawn from similar useful disclosure requirements by lenders, these Broadband Truth-in-Labeling disclosure standards will give the marketplace a much-needed tool that clarifies and adds meaning to the terms and conditions of the service being offered. Broadband subscribers are often frustrated that the actual performance of their Internet access service regularly falls far below the advertised speeds. Consumers set their expectations based on phrases like "up to 16 Mbps," and are disappointed to learn that these quotes are worthless as assurances. Currently, there is no lawful requirement for ISPs to reveal the contents of the broadband services they are providing; customers might be harmed by the invalid or ambiguous languages. Internet Access Providers should disclose the important facts and details of the broadband offering before subscribers sign up. The disclosure should be meaningful, and failing to meet minimum standards should be treated as an important service outage (resulting in a refund or service credit to the consumer). Where there are choices between different products or providers, the disclosure should be made in a way that allows consumers to compare them. Providing clear, meaningful, comparable disclosures ultimately spurs competition between ISPs which encourages the future development of broadband technology.