ISPs' long nightmare of having to list all the fees they charge is finally over
arstechnica.comToo complex to list ... but not too complex to charge?!
Imagine scanning 50 things at the self-checkout at the supermarket and the machine says, "sorry, it's too many to list; you are getting an abridged receipt".
I believe the argument is that the passthrough fees can vary by location in a way that makes it hard to produce a precise fee calculation on promotional material. As a random example, it's plausible that a local government could charge a fee for installing new hardware in historic buildings; failing to include that fee when advertising to residents would fall afoul of the previous rule.
Of course, the counterargument is that ISPs should just be eating charges like that rather than passing them on to consumers. If they don't want to have to advertise confusing, long fee schedules, they shouldn't try to charge them in the first place!
Could they not comply by means of a footnote pointing to some fine print somewhere which lists all the possible charges there could be along with possible conditions leading to those charges?
That's in the spirit of passing on. Pass on the charges to subscribed users, and to prospective subscribers, pass on the work of figuring out what extra charges apply in their location and situation.
framing listing account fees a customer has to pay as a nightmare is hilarious. the fact isps complained it was hard till it got axed says everything about isp regulation
Did you read the article? It was pretty sarcastic in tone, with all of the arguments in favor of the ISPs written with air quotes.