Economy FCC Says Internet Service Providers Must Start Displaying the True Cost and Speed of Their Service

[Arkain2K]

Are you sure you're talking about MBs and not Mbs?

5MB/s is about 40 mb/s. I can stream multiple HD streams at the same time. What kind of speed are you currently getting? Why would you ever need anything faster?

My mistake, internet speed down here are always in Mbps so I switched it in my head by default.

The option for my neighborhood is currently either $40 for 500 Mbps or $60 for 1Gbps.

I'm sure not that many people need gigabit internet, but that's just how the market works over here: instead of the price going down over the years, we continuously get faster speed for the same price as ISP's upgrade their network and aggressively competing against each other in download speed instead of pricing, and the internet bandwidth is always uncapped: you pay the same price no matter how much you download/upload each month.

Back when I was in college, the same prices would get me half of the speed now, but we roughly pay the same price points. Same with mobile phone: wireless plans have always been around $40-$60 a month, we just got much less mobile data, talk time, and speed back then compare to now.

(This ofcourse only apply to the cities and suburbs. Those who lives in rural areas are generally fucked since no ISPs want to lay down super high-speed internet lines where they only have a handful of customers within hundreds of square miles of farm land, so their pricing and speed are on a whole different universe than we are).

 

[Arkain2K]

FCC clamps down on confusing ‘hidden fees’ in your cable TV bill​

Cable and satellite TV providers will need to ensure they show the total price of subscription plans as a “prominent single line item” — including costs described as extra fees — under a rule adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday.

The FCC says the new rule (pdf) for “all-in” pricing will make it easier for customers to compare prices against competing providers and streaming services by eliminating the “misleading practice of describing video programming costs as a tax, fee, or surcharge.”

“No one likes surprises on their bill,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a separate statement (pdf). “The advertised price for a service should be the price you pay when your bill arrives. It shouldn’t include a bunch of unexpected junk fees that are separate from the top-line price you were told when you signed up.”

The new rules for transparent pricing on video programming will apply to both subscribers’ bills and promotional materials. The FCC says that companies often obscure certain costs and fees, which “causes significant and costly confusion for consumers.” The Commission has also proposed eliminating early termination fees issued by cable and satellite TV providers.

Forcing companies to display their subscription prices more clearly might be a relief to consumers who are sick of being surprised by unexpected additional fees, but cable providers like Comcast, Cox, and Charter have argued that it’s unnecessary. The Internet & Television Association (NCTA) called the ruling “misguided” and claims it will only cause further confusion.

“Cable providers offer clear and accurate pricing information to attract and retain subscribers, including ‘all-in’ pricing information before signing up for service,” the NCTA said in response to the ruling. “The FCC’s micromanagement of advertising in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace will force operators to either clutter their ads with confusing disclosures or leave pricing information out entirely.”

FCC clamps down on confusing ‘hidden fees’ in your cable TV bill

The ruling aims to make subscription prices less confusing.

www.theverge.com

 

[Arkain2K]

Cable TV providers will have to show total cost of subscriptions, FCC says



New rules for cable and satellite-TV providers means the companies need to clearly show total costs for video subscriptions, including extraneous fees that can add up to triple digits a year, the Federal Communications Commission announced on Thursday.

"Charges and fees for video programming provided by cable and DBS (direct broadcast satellite) providers are often obscured in misleading promotional materials and bills, which causes significant and costly confusion for consumers," the FCC stated.

The rule adopted by the FCC mandates that cable and satellite companies clearly state the total cost, including fees for regional sports programming as a single line item.

According to advocacy groups Consumer Reports and Public Knowledge, broadcast TV, regional sports and set-top box rentals mean an additional $37 to the average monthly bill, or up to a third of the total.

The companies behind the bills argued against the FCC rule, with the NCTA, the Internet & Television Association calling the requirement technically challenging as regional fees vary, making it expensive to target individual markets.

The FCC in November voted to mandate broadband providers clearly state the cost, speed and data allowances provided by their internet services.

Cable TV providers will have to show total cost of subscriptions, FCC says

Regulator says bills and advertisements will have to clearly show price for video subscribers, including extra fees.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[ShadowRun]

I know Biden talked some about the fees, this is where I applaud him.m, talking about it for awhile

 

[Lord_Impaler]

If any of you want to know... here is fine and well known Speed Test.

https://www.speedtest.net/

I use it whenever I think there is a lag to see what's up in my office or at home.

I got 14.5 mbps, is that fast or slow?

 

[Whippy McGee]

I got 14.5 mbps, is that fast or slow?

I run about 400 down and 80 up at home. If that 14.5 is your download time... it's pretty bad. Do you live in an area with poor service?

 

[Lord_Impaler]

I run about 400 down and 80 up at home. If that 14.5 is your download time... it's pretty bad. Do you live in an area with poor service?

No, I don’t think so, I live in a suburb so there’s lots of towers and people around. I’m able to stream movies and stuff on 2 devices at the same time with no problem.

IDK what you mean by download time, I don’t ever download anything I just stream shows and movies and surf the internet.