We Need a Broadband Internet Pricing Equivalent of Nutrition Labels

In Slate Future Tense, Amir Nasr and Austin Adams argue for the adoption of a Nutrition Facts-like standardized pricing disclosure for broadband internet plans.

Today, it’s difficult to imagine not having the ability to read straightforward facts about the nutrition content of our food and comparison shop between competing products.

The same could be true for broadband. As far back as 2010, our organization has been advocating for the adoption of a broadband nutrition label, including here in Slate. In fact, labeling is such a common-sense measure that it has been adopted in the broadband context before. In 2016, the FCC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau together rolled out their version of the “broadband nutrition label.”

“Broadband Facts” resembles Nutrition Facts, emulating a disclosure method the American public is already familiar with. It breaks down a plan’s cost and performance, including all additional fees and taxes, so that people don’t have to dig through complicated terms of service and contracts to find simple information.

Increasing internet pricing transparency would both benefit consumers and strengthen competition. Research highlighted by our organization in the past indicates that people prefer labels to guide their purchasing decisions. And, helping consumers better understand the fees behind that choice would incentivize companies to offer simpler pricing structures to attract more customers. It would be tougher for companies to sell consumers on nonsense fees and unnecessary high costs when they are forced to spell out their charges rather than concealing them in complicated contracts or bills.