INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The repeal of net neutrality is part of a campaign by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.
Two pivotal developments this week could dramatically expand the power and footprint of major telecom
companies, altering how Americans access everything from political news to "Game of Thrones" on the Internet.Monday marks the official end
government's net neutrality rules, which had required broadband providers such as ATT, Charter and Verizon to treat all Web traffic equally
The repeal is part of a campaign by Ajit Pai, the Republican chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, to deregulate the telecom
industry in a bid to boost its investments - particularly in rural areas."I think ultimately it's going to mean better, faster, cheaper
Internet access and more competition," Pai said in an interview
Others disagree and will challenge Pai in court, while many states are fighting back with their own laws, further muddling the situation.One
day after the net neutrality changes, a federal judge is set to rule on Tuesday on whether ATT can buy Time Warner
ATT, already the country's second-largest wireless network, stands to gain a content trove from Time Warner that includes HBO and CNN -
leading the Justice Department, which filed the lawsuit, to argue that the company could harm its rivals.The two events in Washington could
lead to further consolidation of wireless, cable and content giants, public-interest advocates say
And they fear that behemoths like ATT might someday prioritize their own TV shows and other content over rivals'
Internet service providers, or ISPs, deny that they would engage in such a practice - yet consumer watchdogs worry that consumers would have
little legal recourse if they did."I think this could be a one-two punch to consumers and online competition," said Gene Kimmelman, the
president of Public Knowledge, a Washington, D.C.-based public interest group
"The combination of no net neutrality and video consolidation creates new bottlenecks that empower the traditional media industry to raise
prices and limit online competition.But Pai, who has visited 26 states and two territories, said he heard a different message from consumers
as the government's net neutrality rules expire
His trips to places such Dahlonega, Ga., a city of roughly 6,500, illustrated that Americans feel they are "on the wrong side of the digital
divide" and lack broadband options, he said in an interview in his eighth-floor office at the commission
"They are not concerned that Internet service providers are going to block access to lawful content."The expiring net neutrality
protections, adopted at the FCC under President Barack Obama in 2015, for years prevented the likes of ATT and Comcast from slowing Web
connections, blocking access to sites and services, or charging content companies for faster delivery of streaming movies or videos
Such arrangements, known as online "fast lanes" in the eyes of critics, threatened hefty tolls that only the largest businesses could afford
to pay, net neutrality advocates warned.Beginning Monday, however, the U.S
government no longer explicitly prohibits those practices
Internet service providers are required only to publish information about how they manage their networks
Violations of their promises - or behaviors that threaten competition or consumers - now fall under the watch of the Federal Trade
Commission, not the telecom-focused FCC.When they adopted their repeal in December, Pai and his GOP allies argued that it would spare
telecom giants from heavy-handed regulations that could crimp investments in broadband expansion
Democrats quickly charged that Pai had ignored roughly 22 million comments that flooded the agency as part of its official deliberations
Many of the commenters urged the FCC to preserve the government's net neutrality protections, which had treated ISPs similar to
utilities.Pai said "misinformation" was behind some of the visceral online reaction he faced
"Some of the politicians who've been grandstanding on this issue have been misinforming the public," the chairman said, pointing to Senate
Democrats who tweeted for months that an end to net neutrality would cripple Web speeds.For now, companies like ATT, Comcast and Verizon
have said they would not block or throttle Web access or charge more for faster delivery of online content."We're all going to wake up on
Monday, and we're all going to be able to stream cool shows off Netflix or Hulu or YouTube," pledged Jonathan Spalter, the leader of
USTelecom, a trade group for the telecom industry
Broadband providers, he said in an interview, had been "unfairly and inappropriately the target of this angst or fear."Pai also stressed
that the FTC - the agency now in charge of policing whether telecoms abuse their power - is "going to be a powerful tool for weeding out any
anti-competitive conduct."But some of the staunchest advocates of net neutrality protections insist the telecom industry's commitments to
not block or charge more for the delivery of some content are insufficient, while the FTC lacks the expertise and authority to hold them to
account."I don't believe them when they say they're not going to do anything and they're going to honor net neutrality," Rep
Frank Pallone, N.J., the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in an interview
"That may be true next week, but over time I suspect they will start violating."Some neutrality advocates - with the backing of about two
dozen state attorneys general - areshifting their attention to federal court, which is soon to hear challenges claiming that Pai acted
arbitrarily in overturning the Obama-era rules
The case could "keep ISPs honest, so to speak, so they wouldn't make drastic changes on day one" after the repeal, said Michael Beckerman,
the president of the Internet Association, which represents tech giants like Facebook and Google and is participating in a lawsuit.A more
urgent battle is brewing in several states, which are passing their versions of net neutrality rules in defiance of the federal repeal
Oregon, Vermont and Washington state have adopted open-Internet laws, while governors in an additional six states have sought to address the
matter through executive orders.In California, lawmakers hope a proposal making its way through the legislature could force the U.S
Congress to settle the issue with a long-elusive federal standard."If that puts upward pressure on the federal government to enact robust
net neutrality rules, then that's a good thing," said Scott Wiener, a Democratic state senator and the bill's chief author.In response to
the state action, USTelecom is "exploring legal action," said Spalter, citing the FCC's order explicitly preempting states from acting on
net neutrality.At the FCC, Pai said the agency is "keeping all options on the table.""I'm confident that our decision is the one that best
vindicates consumers concerns going forward, and protects them in the Internet economy that we have, and promotes a stronger economy for
them going forward," he said.A few blocks away from the FCC, another legal battle is crescendoing: the Justice Department's war with ATT
over its $85 billion bid to buy Time Warner, announced in October 2016.DOJ lawyers have argued that ATT's deal would lead to higher prices
for consumers, especially if the combined company withheld popular channels, like CNN or TNT, until other cable providers paid higher rates
In response, ATT has labored to poke holes in the government's economic analysis
Company attorneys also said during trial that ATT has an incentive to ensure those channels are carried widely
No matter the outcome of the ATT case, meanwhile, either side could appeal.ATT declined to comment on net neutrality or the lawsuit.The
verdict on the merger could have broad significance
Siding with ATT might clear the way for more consolidation, while siding with the government could cause telecom giants to think twice about
buying companies in new lines of business
Even now, federal policymakers have a full dossier of proposed megamergers to review, including the combination of wireless carriers Sprint
and T-Mobile."It is a period of profound change," said Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, one of Pai's chief critics, "and we are
also watching a lot of the big get even bigger."But Republicans at the FCC maintain that existing law is sufficient to guard against
misbehavior, even as telecom companies gobble one another up."One of the concerns I see animating the ATT case
is this putting together of distribution and content," Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said in an interview
"But what I can tell you is, if an ISP reaches an agreement to act in a non-neutral way by blocking, throttling or discriminating against
