In less than two months, the incoming Trump administration will take office and once that happens, significant changes are on the horizon for many industries in the United States. The telecommunications business will be no exception, as wireless carriers are expected to be given more freedom to conduct their operations under the new government. More specifically, it seems likely that the Republican-led FCC will take another look at the net neutrality rules that were put in place under President Obama. Simply speaking, net neutrality refers to the concept of all Internet data being treated equally. According to current rules, broadband Internet and wireless service providers are prevented from treating some data in a manner which discourages people from using alternatives. While these regulations still allow for some degree of zero-rating practices, they’ve been proven to work for the most part.
Now, it’s not surprising that wireless carriers aren’t terribly thrilled with the fact that they can’t outright discourage people from using competing services. After all, they’re all in the business of making money. In line with that thinking, Braxton Carter, the Chief Financial Officer at T-Mobile US, recently asserted that the incoming Trump administration and most of its future decisions — including the possible annulment of net neutrality rules — will be a positive for the wireless industry. While speaking at the 44th Annual Global Media and Communications Conference in New York City earlier today, Carter stated that too much regulation can easily destroy innovation, adding that the industry should benefit under the new administration. More specifically, Carter explicitly said that existing net neutrality rules stifle innovations in the industry and unnecessarily prevent significant differentiation between the four largest carriers in the country.
In addition to more lenient net neutrality rules, T-Mobile’s CFO also added that he expects corporate taxes will be reduced, while mergers and acquisitions are bound to be easier under the new President, labeling all of those changes as positive for the wireless industry. Despite the comments, Carter declined to comment on a possible merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, a deal which was discussed under President Obama, but was ultimately prevented by the Democrat-led FCC. While T-Mobile’s CFO declined to make any further predictions, Carter concluded by stating that next year is going to be “really interesting” and that T-Mobile will be closely following every decision made by the incoming Trump administration.