The broadband industry hates net neutrality, but its existence has always had a huge and unnoticed upside. Selling broadband is a great business…
– Tim Wu, media law expert, writing in the New Yorker about how Thursday s landmark net neutrality decision by the FCC has spurned conventional wisdom at every step, and how the fallout may continue to do so. Wu posits a theory that the regulations will not trigger years of bitter litigation, as many have predicted. Why? Because cable companies will realize they re still making plenty of money and a long fight wouldn t be worth the effort. Stated simply, a strong net-neutrality rule locks in the status quo for the most profitable part of the cable industry s business, Wu writes. Between rising stock prices for cable companies, a desire not to antagonize the FCC for fear it may derail mergers and a well-written law that is likely to hold up in court, Wu predicts the rules will remain in place. We shall see…
At top: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler speaks during Thursday s net neutrality hearing (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
