As reported in the Wall Street Journal, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the FCC lacks the authority to regulate broadband providers under the same rules as traditional telephone services, ending the discussion on Net Neutrality. Net Neutrality hinged on the concept that ISPs should be regulated to ensure services and traffic were treated equally regardless of varying factors in delivery and use. Net Neutrality has been a political football for nearly a decade, one that I’m not looking to referee in this post, but rather point out some of the highlights on both sides of the ruling.
To over-simplify:
On the side of the FCC and the consumer, impacts to the quality of internet and general customer service concerns are expected to be impacted with this ruling. The FCC’s perceived authority has also been shaken with this ruling, as it relates to holding ISPs accountable to the benefit of their consumers.
On the side of ISPs, the end of Net Neutrality avoids regulation from the government and a fear that Net Neutrality was just the beginning of future regulation. As reported by Fierce Network, a group of telecom trade associations issued a statement highlighting the ruling helps to enable future investments and innovations.
At the end of the day what does this mean for resellers? Short-answer is nothing yet. Net Neutrality would’ve introduced new regulations, so this ruling doesn’t change the market. However, moving forward, the FCC may be perceived as a weaker agency by not gaining the authorities outlined in Net Neutrality. I’m not a betting man, but a scenario we could see in the future is more intense competition from ISPs in certain areas with higher-levels of switchers in the market; if the customer service and pricing concerns do come to fruition. Whether that is a good or bad thing is above my pay-grade, so for now, happy selling!