Net Neutrality Death Under Trump Excites T-Mobile

Donald Trump hasn’t even taken the oath of office yet, and his administration is already expected to scrap regulations that protect net neutrality. His position on internet freedom is viewed with such negativity, in fact, that large archiving groups are planning on moving their data to Canada to protect it from Trump. However, one of the groups that seem ecstatic about his impending presidency includes T-Mobile and other internet service providers.

Under the Obama administration, the telecommunication companies were placed under intense scrutiny with regards to mergers and deals lasting 8 years, Fortune reports. As a result, a lot of projects were pushed back or put on hold under the watchful eyes of the FCC.

With the incoming Trump administration, however, things are different. Trump has never made it a secret that he thinks net neutrality is a waste of time. With his cabinet made up of people who are pro-capitalism and anti-regulation, it’s no wonder that ISPs are elated right now.

The CFO of T-Mobile Braxton Carter has expressed hopefulness with regards to consolidation, in particular, during a UBS conference. Two attempts to acquire the company in the past have been thwarted by tough regulations.

Since then, the Uncarrier has been generating a healthy profit, which puts it in a much more advantageous position for making deals. With this being the case, it would seem that the delay actually did the company a favor.

Aside from relaxing regulations on mergers and consolidations, carriers are also hoping for big tax breaks, Ars Technica reports. Based on Trump’s statements in the past and his recent offers to give tax cuts to corporations in order to bring jobs to the U.S., this is more than likely to happen.

Despite their excitement about the potential elimination of net neutrality, none of the companies are providing specifics on what benefits users would get. Looking at T-Mobile’s propensity to use zero-rating services, a harshly monopolized market could be the future.