Industry to let trade groups take the lead in legal battle

Several associations representing wireless carriers and cable companies are ready to sue the Federal Communications Commission on a plan to regulate Internet traffic, according to Reuters.

The news agency reported that CTIA-The Wireless Association, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association and USTelecom are preparing lawsuits challenging FCC's new net neutrality rules, adopted in February. The American Cable Association and National Association of Manufacturers also are contemplating lawsuits.

The FCC rules would prevent Internet providers from blocking access to certain sites or charging businesses extra to have content streamed along so-called "fast lanes" to customers. They are backed by the Obama administration and many Web-based businesses, but a wide range of business groups have called the measures an unnecessary government intrusion into the free market.

Many tech industry observers expected a fight after the new rules were adopted but were not sure whether the legal challenge would come from the businesses themselves or their associations. Verizon successfully fought off a previous attempt by the FCC to impose net neutrality in 2014, but this time the company is prepared to let trade groups take up the battle.

"We believe there will be a lot of litigation, which will probably be led by industry associations," Verizon CFO Fran Shammo told Rueters.http://reut.rs/199ooaI