ISPs complained about Biden-era rule, said listing every fee was too hard.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr says Internet service providers shouldn’t have to list every fee they charge. Responding to a request from cable and telecom lobby groups, he is proposing to eliminate a rule that requires ISPs to itemize various fees in broadband price labels that must be made available to consumers.
The rule took effect in April 2024 after the FCC rejected ISPs’ complaints that listing every fee they created would be too difficult. The rule applies specifically to recurring monthly fees “that providers impose at their discretion, i.e., charges not mandated by a government.”
ISPs could comply with the rule either by listing the fees or by dropping the fees altogether and, if they choose, raising their overall prices by a corresponding amount. But the latter option wouldn’t fit with the strategy of enticing customers with a low advertised price and hitting them with the real price on their monthly bills. The broadband price label rules were created to stop ISPs from advertising misleadingly low prices.
Or if you threaten to cancel and get redirected to “customer retention.” Amazing how “sorry there’s nothing we can do” becomes “looks like we can make a few changes to your plan since you are a valued customer.” But that’s why they lobby so hard to be a monopoly. Can’t cancel their service if they’re the only service provider in hundreds of miles.
This is becoming less and less true. Ive tried this a few times in the last few years and they told me to just go ahead and cancel. One was Comcast who told me they wouldn’t give me an intro rate and the only way to get it was to cancel and have someone else sign up for a new plan.
that’s exactly what i meant by “at the behest of the ISPs”. You can’t go anywhere else in the USA, unless you move, and you might just well end up on the same ISP again. I live in Australia, and while the NBN has its issues, it’s better than the american system, because you can go to any isp you want. Someone offering a cheaper service? BAM. Change ISP in a few short clicks.