When Ajit Pai, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), announced his plan to reverse the net neutrality rules adopted under the leadership of former Chair Tom Wheeler, it was generally met with positive reactions from the wireless industry. But according to a recent report by FierceWireless, industry leaders Verizon Wireless and AT&T could stand to gain the most, especially now that the wireless and digital media markets are starting to overlap.
Pai’s plan basically involves recategorizing broadband services under the Title I information service classification, instead of the Title II common carrier service category. According to the FCC Chairman (who onced worked under Verizon Wireless’ legal department), the proposed Title I classification (which was created back in 1996 under Bill Clinton’s presidency), was upheld by the Supreme Court back in 2005, and conveys more consistency with regards to the facts and legal aspects.
For the longest time, the Title II classification has been fiercely debated by mobile operators, claiming that it essentially makes it more challenging for them, as well as other Internet service providers (ISPs), to compete in the digital advertising market, at least when compared to other tech giants such as Google and Facebook, who are not governed by the same regulations because of the nature of their business (offering websites and mobile apps, but no mobile service).
Those who are against net neutrality rules do have a point, especially when they bring up the subject of blocking and prioritization. After all, when there are no regulations, service providers would be free to slow down network connection speeds as they like, most likely affecting customers who pay less than other consumers. Also, without rules, carriers could only allow faster connection speeds to specific content partners (because they can afford to).
Things have gotten more interesting in the last few months because of the way the wireless industry, or more accurately, the players, have evolved. More and more mobile operators are looking to expand into the digital media business, with carriers Verizon Wireless (who has purchased AOL and is in the process of buying Yahoo) and AT&T (who has acquired DirecTV, and perhaps Time Warner soon) leading the way. Because some carriers now have digital media content at their disposal, they are now offering zero rated data deals, which basically allow their customers to gain access to specific video content without worrying about affecting monthly data allotments. T-Mobile got the ball rolling with its Binge On service, and now mobile operators are following suit. Net neutrality is against this practice.
But without net neutrality rules, it can be argued that Verizon Wireless and AT&T will be put in a position where they can leverage their own video content, at the expense of digital media companies. It would be easy for them to do this, because for starters, they both already have formidable customer bases that can serve as a ready market for their respective digital media offerings.
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https://www.wirefly.com/blog/news/report-fcc-s-stand-net-neutrality-could-benefit-top-2-carriers-us