Technology

Difficulty doesn't make sense, because if they can charge you for it, then they can list it out on your bill.

Unless it's a "we need to show profit growth to our shareholders" fee.

It's not really about eating the costs of doing business. A restaurant doesn't charge you $1 at the end of your bill for washing your fork, it's just part of the cost of serving the dish and so your Salmon Rice dish is $18 not $17.

The point is that the listed prices for services should either have these fees be built right into the price...as pretty much all businesses do...or if you're going to put it at the end of the bill then it needs to be clearly defined per FCC.

It's a transparency problem. Not only is your $60 cell phone bill not actually $60 but then they also don't tell you about the additional fees very well when they tack them on at the end. It's gotta be one or the other, not neither.

You’re completely right to feel that way. As an American, it’s mind blowing to me, too. I really don’t like the fact that “hidden fees” have become normal.

It's actually only a few things. The vast majority of the goods we purchase are clearly priced. Most states (and some local jurisdictions like big cities) do have sales tax applied to purchases of non-essential goods, but those rates are generally much lower than the national sales taxes in most European countries.

It's government mandated. We have variable sales taxes on every product. And it isn't included in the 'price'.

I love when FCC at least appears to do something, not like under Shit Pai.

Frankly though they should revise Title II classification for the Internet and remove exception from the requirement to share last mile to competitors. This is the main reason there's almost no competition. It doesn't make sense for every single ISP to run lines to every home. Those lines should be leaseable.

based administration in the WH

Why is it sometimes hidden by a dropdown, and sometimes the summary is just in the comment?

good bot!

Suppose you buy an Internet plan for $50. On your bill, it'll be $50, plus usually 5-10 other fees probably totaling around $5-10. Some examples from my cell phone bill are

• Fed universal service charge
• regulatory charge
• admin & telco regulatory charge
• gross receipts surcharge
• state public safety comm surcharge
• local public safety comm surcharge
• state sales tax

That's 7 additional fees, whose names vary from somewhat comprehensible to uselessly vague. And you won't find these prices until you get your bill. They're not advertised directly, instead you'll see that $50 advertised price, and a little asterisk that points to tiny text "additional fees may apply" that somehow make this all legal.

The FCC is saying if telcoms are going to add all these fees, they need to be part of the ad and not hidden.

This is about "fees" over and above the advertised "price". So it says your plan is $65/month, but when you get your bill it's actually $95 because there's a "Cost Recovery Fee", a "Network Maintenance Fee", and a "Municipal Area Surcharge" (IIRC all real fees I've paid on an internet bill) on top of the advertised rate. They're often meant to look like taxes, but they aren't.