The FCC May Make It Easier for Internet Companies to Hide Extra Fees

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on July 22 on a proposal that would roll back rules requiring internet service providers to clearly show all the extra fees you pay each month Engadget.

In 2022, the FCC created "broadband nutrition labels" — inspired by the nutrition labels on food packages — to show you the real cost of internet service. These labels list your monthly price, data limits, typical speeds, and every fee the company charges. The goal was to stop internet companies from advertising low prices and then hitting you with surprise charges at checkout.

The proposal would weaken these labels in several ways. Instead of listing each fee separately, internet companies could lump them all together and just say "up to" a total amount. A sales representative could describe the fees conversationally instead of reading them exactly as written. The labels would no longer need to appear directly on the signup page — a hyperlink would do. Internet companies would also no longer have to keep a spreadsheet version of the labels for computers to read, and they wouldn't need to archive labels for plans that get discontinued Engadget.

This is still a draft order. The FCC has not finalized it, and the public will likely get another chance to comment before any change takes effect.

Why This Matters

The itemized labels worked because they let you compare fees between companies. If one internet provider charges a $10 modem rental fee and another charges $15, a clear label makes that difference visible. Bundling all fees into an "up to" number hides those distinctions.

The proposal would also eliminate the spreadsheet requirement. This might seem like a minor detail, but it matters for comparison websites. Over the past few years, sites that help you shop for internet have relied on these spreadsheets to automatically track what different providers charge. Without them, those sites would have to manually check each company's signup page — a slower, less reliable way to keep prices current.

The spreadsheet requirement was arguably one of the most useful parts of the original rule, because it enabled websites to show you side-by-side pricing across providers without human effort. Removing it narrows the flow of pricing data available to comparison tools, independent of what you see when you sign up.

It is worth noting here that the internet industry has long argued that these labeling rules create unnecessary paperwork and slow down the sales process. The FCC's proposal reflects that pressure, and the agency frames this as a way to streamline its own rules.

The FCC has not released the full text of the proposal yet, so it is not entirely clear how the process will unfold once commissioners vote on July 22. A further public comment period appears likely before anything changes.

A Note on Coverage

Some news reports have mixed this broadband proposal up with a separate FCC rulemaking about call center locations and customer service — they are entirely different issues that happen to share a docket number. The July 22 vote is only about broadband labels and fees.