Comcast Complains FCC Broadband Nutrition Label Shackles It With ‘Unnecessarily Onerous Burden’

Comcast is pushing back on a Federal Communications Commission order that will require internet service providers to provide their customers with “broadband nutrition labels” indicating such things as what kind of speed they're getting and what fees they're paying. Comcast urged the FCC to make changes suggested in January 2023 in a joint cable-industry proposal. Rendered by a host of well-acronymed industry organizations—including NCTA–The Internet & Television Association, ACA Connects, CTIA, NTCA, and USTelecom—that proposal suggested that “the variety and quantity of fees that might apply to a broadband service depending on the customer’s location, the services provided, and the types of fees that may apply, adds a substantial amount of complexity to an exercise that is intended to simplify the purchasing process for consumers.” Chiming in with its gripe, Comcast estimates that it will need to create and keep up to date 251 separate broadband consumer labels to comply with the rules as of the initial compliance date. Note: It is still unclear as to when the order will actually take effect.