Consumers Are Going to Love the End of Net Neutrality—at First

[Commentary] In the near term it looks like advocates of network neutrality will be dealt a major blow. That’s because consumers are going to love the Trump administration’s potential first steps at dismantling net neutrality. It starts with an ever-widening array of services that are “zero-rated.” Zero-rating involves internet service providers giving customers free data services, such as unlimited video streaming.

The real risk isn’t that deep-pocketed internet giants would be unable to pay for telecom play. Rather, it’s that any would-be next big thing will instead be smothered in the cradle. Even most opponents of net neutrality don’t believe we should do away with it completely. The consumer impact is difficult to predict. We’ve never really lived in a world without net neutrality. Doing away with the FCC’s current power to enforce net neutrality is like lawmakers tossing away an umbrella just because it’s not raining outside, forgetting that big carriers have every incentive to make it rain—for themselves.