The American Cable Association commended the Federal Communications Commission for issuing new guidance to broadband access providers regarding compliance with the Open Internet disclosure requirements.

"ACA was concerned that the data collection burdens associated with the Open Internet disclosure rule had been underestimated, particularly for smaller broadband providers, and lacked specificity in key respects.  The new guidance lessens concerns raised by ACA in its June 8, 2011 letter to the FCC (available here)," ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka said.

Specifically, ACA explained that smaller broadband Internet service providers would face significant cost burdens in developing meaningful network performance data on a per-subscriber basis, including by having to measure and report actual speed and latency received by customers. 

ACA also requested that the FCC find that point-of-sale disclosure obligations could be met by posting key consumer information on company websites.

Even with these important clarifications and refinements which preserve provider flexibility, ACA believes the disclosure rules will remain sufficiently robust so that end-users can know and understand the capabilities and limitations of their broadband service.