In the recent developments, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is softening its opinion on net neutrality so that it can be better placed to get approval from the FCC for its stock and cash acquisition of DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV).
The details
Back in May, AT&T together with other broadband companies filed a joint lawsuit in the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. The company stated that it will not charge more, slow or block the faster broadband services. Walter McCormick, the President of USTelecom, said that they are not looking to stay the order’s rules prohibiting throttling, blocking and paid prioritization.
The firm belongs to the list of petitioners in the suit. Mr. McCormick also added that USTelecom and other petitioners including AT&T intend to halt badly-planned order of reclassification of broadband services to the utility.
The progress in deal
As of now, AT&T didn’t release any statement on whether the impending DirecTV acquisition deal has affected its lawsuit demanding a stay on some aspects of the Open Internet Order. The experts are anticipating the deal to be approved by antitrust officials at the DoJ. However, the approval of FCC remains the major problem.
AT&T executives have stated that they are ready to make voluntary commitments that consider the public interest. Such commitments can range from offering cheaper plans to expanding broadband coverage.
The future ahead
When AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) first proposed its plan to acquire DirecTV last May, it stated that it would not slow down or speeds up Internet traffic coming to any site or from different clients for 3 years after the completion of deal. However, the recent rumors that the company is now ready to compromise more in the net-neutrality issue is an indication that negotiations for DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV) and AT&T deal can start anytime soon. It indicates that the FCC can see a solution to this sort of deal given there are some protections put in order.
