DISH DISH Network Corporation

By John D. McKinnon and Shalini Ramachandran 

Donald Trump's presidential election victory has increased the chances that President Barack Obama's landmark net-neutrality rules could be rolled back, some telecom investors and experts said Wednesday.

The rules, adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in early 2015, marked a major victory for Silicon Valley companies, such as Alphabet Inc.'s Google unit. Aimed at ensuring a level playing field online, the net neutrality rules require broadband-access providers to treat all content coming across their networks equally, without blocking or slowing competitors or speeding up the content of those who pay more.

Many broadband providers, such as Comcast Corp. and AT&T Inc., have fought hard against the rules, arguing they could undermine investment, particularly by imposing a form of utility-style regulation. Those firms have argued for a less-intrusive approach that preserves the basic principle of net neutrality.

Mr. Trump tweeted criticisms of the current rules soon after the president started pushing them in late 2014, saying, "Obama's attack on the internet is another top-down power grab."

On Wednesday, a day after Mr. Trump's victory, investors and policy wonks alike were buzzing about the possibility that the incoming president could seek to scale back the rules' reach by, for instance, abandoning the utility-style approach.

Dish Network Corp. CEO Charlie Ergen said on the company's third-quarter earnings conference call that the rules may get "another look." He added, "You may see net neutrality be challenged or weakened going forward."

Berin Szoka, president of TechFreedom, a conservative advocacy group, said there is now "a new opportunity to end the divisive and distracting fight over net neutrality." He predicted that either a Trump FCC or the GOP-run Congress would "reverse [the] staggering power grabs" made in connection with the rules.

A federal appeals court panel upheld the rules earlier this year, but legal challenges continue.

A net neutrality rollback would be cheered by cable and telecom firms but fiercely opposed by the likes of Dish and other streaming services. It also would be likely to generate strenuous opposition from some consumer groups.

Mr. Trump, an occasional critic of Silicon Valley during the campaign, likely must worry about alienating firms that are capable of stirring protests on the internet.

Meanwhile, AT&T officials held out hope that their planned merger with Time Warner Inc. eventually would win approval, despite Mr. Trump's professed opposition during the campaign.

Mr. Trump's focus on domestic investment and economic development "all fit right in with AT&T's goals," John Stephens, the company's CFO, said at a Wells Fargo conference Wednesday. "We've been the leading investor in this country for more than five years running, and our Time Warner transaction is all about innovation and economic development, consumer choice and investment in infrastructure."

Write to John D. McKinnon at john.mckinnon@wsj.com and Shalini Ramachandran at shalini.ramachandran@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 09, 2016 17:17 ET (22:17 GMT)

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