New broadband service labels borrow from food industry

Ever felt like you need a visual aid just to understand what’s going on with the price and performance of your Internet service? Then this chart’s for you!

Read more: Google Fiber bringing free Internet to low-income housing

Taking a cue from food manufacturers

The FCC says it gets more than 2,000 complaints every year from consumers who are hit with surprise fees from their Internet provider. That’s why they came up with these charts designed just like the nutrition labels we’re all so familiar with.

The charts let you easily know the following info at a glance:

• Price: Price points, including various charges that seem confusing to consumers like overage, equipment, early termination and administrative fees.
• Data Allowances: This is the carrier-defined plan limit after which consumers will face some consequence, such as additional charges or slowed data speeds.
• Performance: Broadband speed and other performance metrics.

That should go a long way to helping consumers understand their bills and their service. While these charts won’t be mandatory, Internet service providers can use them at the point of sale — either online or in a store — as a legal safe harbor to ‘help assure compliance with the transparency rules,’ according to The Wall Street Journal.

Read more: Free Internet speed test available online