The Republican appointees on the FCC have said they plan to look again at the regulator's net neutrality rule in the new year. In a letter to five industry lobby groups, Commissioners Michael O'Reilly and Ajit Pai said they hope to restore the exemption to the transparency rules for small operators, which expired earlier in December.
Both commissioners opposed the FCC's Open Internet order passed in 2015, and prior to the expiry of small operator exemption, attempted to have the latter extended and expanded, to providers with less than 250,000 customers. They said they would not support any enforcement action against small providers and will seek to change the rules when the new administration takes office. They also plan to revisit the Title II classification of broadband providers under the Open Internet decision, which was the basis for the FCC asserting authority over internet providers.
When Donald Trump takes office as US President in January, he is expected to shift the balance in the FCC to the Republican side. Tom Wheeler, the FCC's current chairman appointed by Barack Obama has already said he will step down in January.
