II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3110 

To improve consumer protection for purchasers of broadband services by 

requiring consistent use of broadband service terminology by providers, 

requiring clear and conspicuous disclosure to consumers about the actual 

broadband speed that may reasonably be expected, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 15, 2010 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and Mr. BEGICH) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To improve consumer protection for purchasers of broadband 

services by requiring consistent use of broadband service 

terminology by providers, requiring clear and conspicuous 

disclosure to consumers about the actual broadband 

speed that may reasonably be expected, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Broadband Service 

5 Consumer Protection Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds that— 

3 (1) the rapid growth and future expansion of 

4 broadband services affects an increasingly large seg5 ment of the economy and millions of consumers; and 

6 (2) the lack of clear, consistent, and easily un7 derstood industry-wide standards and terminology 

8 and the use of ‘‘up to’’ representations of broadband 

9 speed have hampered the ability of consumers— 

10 (A) to make meaningful comparisons of 

11 competing plans and providers; 

12 (B) to make informed decisions about the 

13 purchase of broadband services; and 

14 (C) to determine whether they are receiv15 ing the level of broadband service for which 

16 they are paying. 

17 SEC. 3. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION REGULA18 TIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the date 

20 of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications 

21 Commission shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding— 

22 (1) to assist consumers, before they purchase 

23 broadband service from a provider, in making real24 istic assumptions about the actual speeds that may 

25 reasonably be expected and how those assumptions 

26 may be affected by the hardware used by the conVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:03 Mar 16, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3110.IS S3110

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1 sumer to connect to the Internet, peak service peri2 ods, and other factors; and 

3 (2) to assist consumers, after they purchase 

4 broadband service from a provider, in monitoring 

5 their usage and determining whether they are get6 ting the level of broadband service for which they 

7 are paying. 

8 (b) TERMINOLOGY.—In the regulations prescribed 

9 under subsection (a), the Commission shall— 

10 (1) establish standard definitions for terms 

11 commonly used in the advertising and marketing of 

12 broadband service; and 

13 (2) require that whenever terms for which the 

14 Commission has established a standard definition 

15 are used in such advertising and marketing, the 

16 terms are used in a manner that is consistent with 

17 those definitions. 

18 (c) MEASUREMENT STANDARDS.—In the regulations 

19 prescribed under subsection (a), the Commission, in co20 ordination with such other Federal agencies as the Com21 mission finds appropriate, shall establish, and revise from 

22 time to time as necessary, technical standards for quanti23 fying broadband service measures of performance and 

24 other features, particularly with respect to terms defined 

25 in the regulations prescribed under subsection (b), and reVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:03 Mar 16, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3110.IS S3110

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1 quire that broadband service providers apply those stand2 ards with respect to measures of performance and other 

3 features of the broadband service provided. 

4 (d) PRE-PURCHASE DISCLOSURE.—In the regula5 tions prescribed under subsection (a), the Commission 

6 shall require, at a minimum, that any person selling, or 

7 offering for sale, broadband service to the public disclose 

8 the actual speeds of the broadband service that can rea9 sonably be expected from the broadband service provider 

10 in a clear and conspicuous manner— 

11 (1) in advertising or marketing materials asso12 ciated with the sale, or offering for sale, of the serv13 ice; 

14 (2) in the service contract and other material 

15 associated with the purchase of the service; and 

16 (3) at the point of sale, whether a physical loca17 tion or on a website. 

18 (e) BILLING.—In the regulations prescribed under 

19 subsection (a), the Commission shall require that— 

20 (1) any invoice or periodic statement of account 

21 provided to a consumer by a broadband service pro22 vider include a description or analysis of the service 

23 provided in such detail, and covering such param24 eters of usage, for the period covered by the invoice 


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1 or statement as the Federal Communications Com2 mission determines practicable; and 

3 (2) the description or analysis be provided in an 

4 easily understood, clear and conspicuous, format. 

5 SEC. 4. NO PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW. 

6 Nothing in this Act, or any regulation prescribed 

7 under this Act, shall be construed to preempt the laws of 

8 any State or local government. 

Æ 


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