From CNET: To win regulatory approval for its $49 billion bid to buy satellite TV provider DirecTV, AT&T has agreed to stricter Net neutrality rules and a promise to expand its fiber-optic-based broadband network to more customers.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said Tuesday that he is recommending that his four fellow commissioners approve AT&T's bid to purchase DirecTV. But to win his approval AT&T has had to agree to several conditions, which include not only expanding the current deployment of its gigabit broadband network, but also agreeing to stricter Net neutrality requirements.
Many believed the deal, which was announced more than a year ago, would get approval even though the FCC and the Department of Justice shot down Comcast's hopes to buy fellow cable operator Time Warner Cable for $45 billion. But the big question had been what, if any, conditions the FCC would put on the deal. AT&T's agreement to adhere to stricter Net neutrality obligations is a big win for the FCC. AT&T has been one of the strongest opponents to the agency's controversial new rules, which were passed in February.
Net neutrality is the concept that all traffic on the Internet be treated equally, and the FCC's new rules bar broadband providers from blocking or slowing down service. AT&T has said it believes in the basic principles of Net neutrality but opposes the legal basis the FCC has taken to justify its rules. It has filed a lawsuit against the FCC in federal court.
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