ISPs’ long nightmare of having to list all the fees they charge is finally over

互联网服务提供商（ISP）不必再列出所有收费项目的“漫长噩梦”终于结束了

The Federal Communications Commission today voted to eliminate a Biden-era rule that required Internet service providers to list all of their so-called “passthrough” fees on easily accessible broadband price labels. Instead of advertising accurate prices, ISPs like to advertise artificially low prices and then add all sorts of fees to subscribers’ monthly bills. 美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）今日投票废除了一项拜登政府时期的规定，该规定曾要求互联网服务提供商（ISP）在易于获取的宽带价格标签上列出所有所谓的“转嫁费用”（passthrough fees）。ISP 往往不愿宣传准确的价格，而是倾向于宣传虚低的诱导价格，随后在用户的月度账单中添加各种额外费用。

To prevent bill shock and help consumers compare prices, the FCC updated its broadband-label rules in 2023 to require that ISPs “itemize on the label all discretionary monthly fees that the provider passes through to the consumer.” ISPs complained about the burden and complexity of listing all the passthrough fees they had chosen to charge. It would presumably be less burdensome for providers to advertise accurate prices, eliminating the need to charge additional fees and list them on the labels. 为了防止用户被账单“惊吓”并帮助消费者比较价格，FCC 在 2023 年更新了宽带标签规则，要求 ISP“在标签上逐项列出供应商转嫁给消费者的所有可自由裁量的月度费用”。ISP 抱怨称，列出他们选择收取的每一项转嫁费用既繁琐又复杂。然而，如果供应商直接宣传准确的价格，从而无需收取额外费用并将其列在标签上，这本应是负担更小的做法。

But a few weeks ago, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr helped ISPs out by proposing to let them display passthrough fees in an aggregate “up to” amount instead of listing them all individually. With this change, ISPs can continue advertising inaccurate prices as long as they provide the total amount of passthrough fees on broadband price labels. Separating these costs from the advertised price makes it harder for consumers to find out what they will pay each month, and gives ISPs another method of raising customer bills without announcing a price increase. 但几周前，FCC 主席布伦丹·卡尔（Brendan Carr）通过提议允许 ISP 以“最高金额”的汇总方式显示转嫁费用，而非逐项列出，从而为 ISP 提供了便利。通过这一变更，ISP 只要在宽带价格标签上提供转嫁费用的总额，就可以继续宣传不准确的价格。将这些成本从广告价格中剥离，使得消费者更难获知每月实际支付的金额，也为 ISP 提供了一种无需宣布涨价即可提高客户账单的手段。

As we wrote previously, Carr also proposed letting ISPs provide links to the required price labels instead of displaying the full labels prominently on ordering pages and account portals. In addition to having less information on pricing, the new labels will be a little harder for customers to find. 正如我们之前所写，卡尔还提议允许 ISP 提供指向所需价格标签的链接，而不是在订购页面和账户门户网站上显著展示完整标签。除了定价信息减少外，新标签对客户来说也会更难找到。

Fees will be described instead of listed

费用将以描述而非列表形式呈现

The proposal was approved today. It was changed a bit since it was released in draft form, but the final order is not yet public. The vote was 3-0, with Democrat Anna Gomez joining the Republican majority. Gomez described some changes made since the proposal was released in draft form. Gomez said she would prefer to keep requiring full itemization of fees, but thanked the chairman’s office for working with her on displaying certain kinds of information in the labels. 该提案已于今日获得批准。自草案发布以来，内容有所调整，但最终命令尚未公开。投票结果为 3 比 0，民主党人安娜·戈麦斯（Anna Gomez）加入了共和党多数派的行列。戈麦斯描述了自草案发布以来所做的一些修改。她表示，她更倾向于保留对费用进行完整逐项列出的要求，但感谢主席办公室与她合作，在标签中展示了特定类型的信息。

Instead of listing every fee, she said the updated labels will provide a description of fees that are remitted to state and local governments and a description of fees remitted to third parties. “Though I would have preferred that the labels provide a complete itemization [of fees], consumers will have the option to click on a link below to learn more about each of the types of fees and what they are used for,” Gomez said at today’s FCC meeting. 她表示，更新后的标签将不再列出每一项费用，而是提供对汇缴给州和地方政府的费用以及汇缴给第三方的费用的描述。戈麦斯在今天的 FCC 会议上说：“虽然我更希望标签能提供完整的费用明细，但消费者可以选择点击下方的链接，以了解每种费用的类型及其用途。”

Unless the scheduled implementation date has changed since the draft was released, today’s order will take effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register. 除非预定的实施日期自草案发布以来有所变动，否则今天的命令将在《联邦公报》发布 30 天后生效。

Final version a compromise

最终版本是一种妥协

A spokesperson for Gomez told Ars that under the labels’ aggregate or “up to” amount for passthrough fees, there will be one subcategory for fees remitted to state and local governments and another subcategory for fees remitted to third parties. The two subcategories will have lists of the types of passthrough fees and “a link to a provider-managed webpage that describes what each of these fees (e.g., E911 or pole attachment fees) means and what it is used for,” Gomez’s office said. 戈麦斯的发言人告诉 Ars，在标签的汇总或“最高”金额转嫁费用下，将设有一个用于汇缴给州和地方政府费用的子类别，以及另一个用于汇缴给第三方费用的子类别。戈麦斯办公室表示，这两个子类别将包含转嫁费用的类型列表，并提供“一个指向供应商管理网页的链接，该网页描述了这些费用（例如 E911 或电线杆挂载费）的含义及其用途”。

These requirements were not in the publicly released draft order but were added in a compromise, Gomez’s office told us. Carr’s draft order released a few weeks ago would have let providers display only a single number to indicate the maximum amount of fees that might be charged. 戈麦斯办公室告诉我们，这些要求并未出现在公开发布的草案命令中，而是作为妥协方案添加的。卡尔几周前发布的草案命令原本允许供应商仅显示一个数字，以表明可能收取的最高费用金额。

At today’s meeting, Gomez discussed how the new rules will let ISPs provide links to the labels instead of displaying them prominently. The final order “retains the requirement that providers include broadband labels in customers’ account portals,” she said. “However, we narrow that requirement to providing a hyperlink or icon rather than requiring the full label to be displayed. While my preference would have been to display the full label, my hope is that the commission, our industry partners, and consumer groups will work together to promote and advertise the concept of broadband labels such that consumers seek out this resource and use it regularly.” 在今天的会议上，戈麦斯讨论了新规则将如何允许 ISP 提供标签链接，而不是显著展示它们。她说，最终命令“保留了要求供应商在客户账户门户中包含宽带标签的规定。然而，我们将该要求缩小为提供超链接或图标，而不是要求显示完整标签。虽然我更倾向于显示完整标签，但我希望委员会、我们的行业合作伙伴和消费者团体能共同努力，推广和宣传宽带标签的概念，以便消费者能够主动寻找并经常使用这一资源。”

Passthrough fees are not taxes, but vary by location and are “imposed by a government entity or third-party infrastructure owner rather than set by the provider itself,” the FCC said in the draft order. The fees include “state and local right-of-way fees, pole attachment fees imposed by third-party pole owners, and similar charges,” the FCC said. In the FCC’s words, these fees “represent costs the provider chooses to pass through to consumers rather than rolling them into the base monthly price.” FCC 在草案中指出，转嫁费用并非税收，而是因地而异，且“由政府实体或第三方基础设施所有者征收，而非由供应商自行设定”。FCC 表示，这些费用包括“州和地方通行权费、第三方电线杆所有者征收的电线杆挂载费以及类似费用”。用 FCC 的话来说，这些费用“代表了供应商选择转嫁给消费者，而不是将其计入基础月费的成本”。

Ultimately, the fees are part of an ISP’s total cost of doing business and could be reflected in the overall advertised price. But ISPs choose to treat them as separate charges for the purpose of billing consumers. 归根结底，这些费用是 ISP 总运营成本的一部分，本可以反映在整体广告价格中。但 ISP 为了向消费者收费，选择将它们作为单独的费用处理。

The burden of listing fees

列出费用的负担

While ISPs seem to have little difficulty charging the fees when it’s time to issue monthly bills, they complain about the burden of listing all the fees on the broadband price labels. Broadband lobby group USTelecom complained to the FCC that “providers must create and update hundreds of different labels to account for geographic variability and to ensure that their systems properly queue the label specific to the proper location when the customer inputs their address.” 虽然 ISP 在每月开具账单时收取这些费用似乎毫无困难，但他们却抱怨在宽带价格标签上列出所有费用是一种负担。宽带游说团体 USTelecom 向 FCC 抱怨称，“供应商必须创建并更新数百种不同的标签，以应对地理差异，并确保当客户输入地址时，其系统能正确调取特定地点的标签。”

Previous FCC leadership implemented broadband labels in response to a directive from Congress. “Over the last few years, we have learned that when labels become cluttered with unnecessary details, they stop being the quick, easy-to-use shopping tool Congress envisioned,” Carr said at today’s meeting. 前任 FCC 领导层为响应国会的指令实施了宽带标签制度。卡尔在今天的会议上说：“在过去几年中，我们了解到，当标签充斥着不必要的细节时，它们就不再是国会所设想的那种快速、易用的购物工具了。”