Large internet service providers now have to post a so-called “broadband nutrition label” online and in stores to give consumers a snapshot of all the charges and performance data for their plans. The new requirement from the Federal Communications Commission went into effect on Wednesday and could make it easier to comparison shop for broadband service.

Internet providers and cable companies often tend to have a lot of fine print — promotional prices that evaporate, maximum speeds that aren’t always available or an assortment of obscurely named fees.

“They’re all like one or two bucks each, but when there’s eight of them, that kind of adds up,” said Justin Brookman, who directs technology policy at Consumer Reports, which has studied cable bills. 

“We found that people were often very confused about what they’re paying for and getting,” he said. “And they’re often surprised by how much they’re being charged.”

The new broadband nutrition labels look a lot like food ones, but track fiber speed or added fees. Lorrie Cranor, a professor who studies consumer label design at Carnegie Mellon, said that consumers don’t always know how to interpret these figures.

“Don’t just give me numbers, tell me how good is this? If I want to play video games,” she said, “if I want to stream movies.”

The labels also only have to be displayed at the “point of sale,” so once you’re a customer they could take a few extra clicks to find.

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