Updated December 4, 2025.  Originally posted November 26, 2025.

In November, the Federal Communication Commission (“FCC”) released a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”) proposing to eliminate or modify various broadband label rules for Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”).  The FCC’s primary rationale for these proposed changes is that the rules are cumbersome for ISPs to implement and offer little, if any, benefit to consumers.  The FNPRM seeks to “streamline the rules to reduce the compliance burden on providers while preserving the benefit to consumers.”

Specifically, the FNPRM seeks comment on several proposals to amend the broadband label transparency rules, including:

Eliminating Certain Requirements for ISPs.  To better effectuate its congressional directive under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the FNPRM seeks comment on whether the following requirements should be eliminated:

1. That ISPs read the entire label to consumers shopping for broadband service over the phone.  
2. That ISPs itemize state and local passthrough fees, such as right-of-way fees, which are not determined by ISPs and differ by location.
3. That ISPs share information with consumers about the inactive Affordable Connectivity Program (commonly referred to as ACP), which ended in June 2024.
4. That ISPs display labels about a customer’s plan in their account portals. 
5. That ISPs make labels available on their websites and in a machine-readable format.
6. That ISPs “archive labels for at least two years after a service is no longer offered to new customers.”

Multilingual Display Requirement.  The FNPRM seeks comment on whether ISPs should be required to provide consumers with service labels in languages other than English.

Broadband Label Template.  The FNPRM seeks comment on amending the rules for the broadband label template by: (1) removing the template from the Code of Federal Regulations and replacing it with a link to the FCC’s website, and (2) updating the current label template link from “fcc.gov/consumer” to “fcc.gov/broadbandlabels.”  

Streamlining the Label Requirements.  To further streamline the rules, the FNPRM seeks comment on additional ways to improve broadband labels in a manner that benefits consumers without imposing undue burdens on providers.

Initial comments may be filed on or before January 2, 2026 and reply comments may be filed on or before February 2, 2026, as set forth in the Federal Register.