Pai Eager to Nix Broadband Regulations, ISPs 'Almost Giddy,' Consultant Says
New FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is champing at the bit to undo broadband regulation, said CCMI telecom consultant Andy Regitsky in a Friday blog post. But he also said Pai wants increased agency transparency and cooperation between commissioners: "Pai is…
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likely to share drafts of important decisions with commissioners of both political parties unlike ex-Chairman Tom Wheeler. It is even possible those draft orders could be made public. Still to be determined is whether Pai will actually compromise with Democrats on important issues." Regitsky said Pai and fellow Republican Commissioner Mike O'Rielly "can quickly begin undoing some of the pro-regulatory actions of ex-chairman Wheeler," including the net neutrality order -- which also reclassified broadband under Communications Act Title II -- and related privacy rules. He said the FCC will ignore concerns about broadband zero rated plans: "With the pressure off, it is likely that ISPs will introduce a flood of such services." Even "more discouraging to ISP competitors and consumer advocates, the new FCC is likely to sit on or discourage most section 208 complaints" while final net neutrality details are determined, he wrote. Rolling back net neutrality and privacy rules, and eventually eliminating special access price caps, "will almost certainly advantage large and established companies. That is why large ISPs, cable companies and their associations are almost giddy with anticipation over Pai’s appointment," he wrote.