FCC Rule Change: Small Carriers Now Exempt From Truth-In-Billing Requirements

The Federal Communications Commission is under new leadership, and the changes are already coming. One of the first moves of the new administration has exempted small internet services providers from rules requiring disclosure of charges on customer bills.

The order grants companies with 250,000 or fewer subscribers an out from the transparency requirements passed in February 2015 as part of the commission’s net neutrality rules that mandated home and wireless internet providers disclose more information about the plans they offer.

Companies are required to provide the full monthly service charge including any disclosures for promotional prices and limited-time offers; one-time and recurring fees, surcharges, any other fees that may apply; and any data caps, along with any consequences for exceeding those caps.

The original ruling offered a temporary exemption to carriers and service providers with 100,000 or fewer subscribers, but set the exception to expire in December 2016. Not only will that exemption be extended for five years, but expanded to encompass carriers with up to a quarter of a million subscribers.

According to recently appointed FCC chairman Ajit Pai, the requirements were “unnecessary, onerous, and ill-defined reporting obligations.” Despite Pai’s assessment, the FCC took steps last year to simplify the reporting process by releasing “nutrition labels” for service providers to use as a template for disclosing information.

Pai said the order mirrors a bipartisan bill that passed the House of Representatives in March 2016 and has already received the support of FCC commissioner Michael O’Rielly—a fellow Republican appointee on the board.

O'Rielly's support gives the order a 2-1 majority as the commission waits for its other seats to be filled. The remaining seats will include an appointment from President Donald Trump and an appointment from Democrats, which will likely result in a 3-2 approval of the order on party lines.

Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts called the decision “unacceptable” in a statement following the order. “ Rather than granting carve outs for the broadband industry, the FCC should be ensuring that all consumers have access to all the pricing and performance information they need to make informed decisions about their broadband service,” he said.

The move is likely just the first significant change to be made by chairman Pai. He and commissioner O’Rielly promised to “fire up the weed whacker” and remove regulations put in place by the FCC under Barack Obama appointee Tom Wheeler.