What Changes When Your Internet Provider Stops Reading the Fine Print Aloud?

Phone Calls Get a Conversation Instead of a Script

The rule used to require sales representatives to read the entire broadband label verbatim during a telephone sale. That requirement is gone. Representatives must still cover the fields that matter most to a purchase decision. They must state the monthly price including any monthly fees. They must state the introductory rate and its duration. They must also disclose typical download and upload speeds, latency, data allowance, contract term, and early termination fees. They can now summarize those points in natural language instead of performing a robotic recitation.

No mandatory script will be imposed. The Commission declined to adopt one, saying providers need flexibility to adapt verbal summaries to different customer interactions. It also declined to require representatives to offer the full label by text, email, or mail, though it encourages them to point callers to the label on the provider website. The change takes effect September 14, 2026.

Fees Can Appear as One "Up To" Number

Itemizing every passthrough fee by jurisdiction created a blizzard of distinct labels. Providers operating across multiple states had to generate and maintain a separate version for each local fee combination. The new rule allows two simpler alternatives.

First, a provider may show a single maximum "up to" amount — the highest total passthrough fee any subscriber would pay anywhere in that plan's service territory. Second, a provider may display the exact total for the specific jurisdiction where the customer lives. The old itemized approach remains permitted.

If a provider chooses the "up to" option, the label must break that maximum into two categories: governmental passthrough fees and non‑governmental third‑party passthrough fees. The label must also list the types of fees that fall in each category and link to a provider‑maintained webpage with clear descriptions of each fee type. The displayed maximum or exact total must not understate current fees; if fees rise above the disclosed figure, the provider must revise the label.

Three Requirements Disappear Entirely

The Affordable Connectivity Program ended, so the rule drops the mandate to display ACP information on the label. The requirement to publish label data in a machine‑readable database format is eliminated. The requirement to archive labels for at least two years after a service is no longer offered to new customers is also eliminated. The Commission concluded these obligations went beyond its statutory mandate and imposed compliance costs without proportional consumer benefit.

What Stays the Same

Labels must remain accessible to people with disabilities. Providers must still display the label in every language they use to market the service. The multilingual requirement is unchanged.

One Piece Is Delayed Indefinitely

Instruction 3, which corresponds to Section 8.1(a) of the Code of Federal Regulations, has no effective date. The Commission will publish a separate Federal Register notice when it decides when that provision takes effect. The rest of the rule becomes effective September 14, 2026.