How to Read the FCC "Broadband Nutrition Label" Before You Sign Up
Since 2024, every internet provider has had to display a standardized price disclosure for each plan — officially the "Broadband Consumer Label," unofficially the "nutrition label for internet." It's the single best defense against the fine print in internet ads. Here's how to actually use one.
Where to find it
Providers must show the label before you buy — on the plan's order page — and keep a copy available afterward. It looks like a simple box, deliberately styled to resemble a food nutrition label, with the same section every time so plans are comparable at a glance.
What's on it, and why each line matters
- Monthly price — and separately, whether that price is an introductory rate with a listed expiration and the price it jumps to afterward. This is the line most worth reading twice; a "$40/mo" plan that becomes "$75/mo" after 12 months is common, and the label is required to say so up front.
- Additional fees — equipment rental, installation, early termination fees — itemized rather than buried in a contract.
- Data included — whether the plan has a data cap, and the overage charge if you exceed it.
- Typical download and upload speeds — not the "up to" marketing number, but what the provider reports customers typically experience.
- Discounts — including whether the price requires bundling (a "$50 plan" that's actually $65 without a phone bundle isn't unusual).
The comparison trick most people miss
Compare the post-introductory price across providers, not the teaser price — that's the number you'll actually pay most months you're a customer. A $45 introductory offer that jumps to $80 loses to a flat $60 plan within the first year, even though it looks cheaper on the ad.
An honest caveat about this guide
The label requirement is federal policy, and federal policy can change. As of mid-2026, regulators have proposed rolling back several consumer-protection pieces of this rule — including, notably, the requirement that labels be published in a machine-readable format, which is exactly what independent comparison sites use to pull pricing data automatically (it's also why, as of this writing, we show you availability and speeds but not live pricing — see our About page). A final decision is expected later this year. If the label requirement itself survives (only the machine-readable format is at risk), you'll still be able to find and read the label on the provider's own order page even if third-party sites can no longer aggregate it automatically.
The practical habit
Before you order any plan, find its label, and specifically check three things: the price after any introductory period ends, whether there's a data cap, and the early termination fee. Those three numbers, more than the advertised headline, determine what you actually pay over a year.