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Policy & Regulation

Broadband Nutrition Labels

FCC-mandated consumer disclosure labels that ISPs must display, showing plan speed, price, data caps, and fees in a standardized format — similar to food nutrition labels.

What It Means

Required since April 2024, broadband labels must appear at the point of sale for every internet plan. They show: monthly price (including all fees), typical download/upload speeds, latency, data cap, overage charges, early termination fee, and equipment rental costs. The labels are designed to end the practice of advertising low introductory prices while hiding additional fees. Consumers can use these labels to make apples-to-apples comparisons between ISPs and plans.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "Broadband Nutrition Labels" mean?

FCC-mandated consumer disclosure labels that ISPs must display, showing plan speed, price, data caps, and fees in a standardized format — similar to food nutrition labels.

Why does Broadband Nutrition Labels matter for internet quality?

Required since April 2024, broadband labels must appear at the point of sale for every internet plan. They show: monthly price (including all fees), typical download/upload speeds, latency, data cap, overage charges, early termination fee, and equipment rental costs. The labels are designed to end t...

Related Terms

Broadband
High-speed internet access that is always on and faster than traditional dial-up. The FCC defines broadband as a minimum of 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload as of 2024.
Digital Divide
The gap between communities with access to fast, reliable, affordable internet and those without. Disproportionately affects rural, low-income, and tribal areas.
BEAD Program
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program — a $42.5 billion federal initiative to expand broadband access to underserved and unserved areas across all 50 states.
FCC Broadband Data Collection (BDC)
The FCC's address-level broadband availability database that replaced the older Form 477 system. Collects data from every ISP twice a year covering over 116 million locations.

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About This Data

Definitions based on FCC standards, industry specifications, and federal broadband policy. Speed benchmarks reflect 2024 FCC standards. See our methodology.