With a new President comes a new FCC.

The agency hasa new chairmanwho already started making big changes over the last few days.

Heres whats happening and how it affectsthe principle of net neutralitygoing forward.

President Trumpnamed Commissioner Ajit Pai the new chairmanon January 23rd, replacing Tom Wheeler.

Notably, Ajit Paivoted against that order, but well come back to that.

Even before the seats are filled, however, Pai has already begun to take action.

Over the last week, Pai has quietly issued a series of orders within the FCC.

Many of these received very little attention, often meriting only small updates on the agencys website.

However, the changes to FCC policy already have far-reaching implications.

Under these plans, you pay based on how much data you download.

Zero-rating plans are pitched as a free benefit to consumers, and they do sort of feel like it.

You get to download more stuff for the same amount of money.

In fact, from most customers perspective, its a pretty sweet deal.

Others like those from AT&T and Verizon, though, can cost money.

Prior to the change in management, the FCC was investigating these programs to see how they impact consumers.

On February 3rd, Chairman Paiannounced that the FCC was ending this investigation.

More importantly, it signals both to consumers and companies that zero-rating is here to stay.

At least for the next few years.

Currently, cable companies can force you to rent a box from them for a monthly fee.

So, if you want to buy your own cable box, youre out of luck.

Compare this with, say, internet modems.

For television, however, thats not possible.

Youneeda set-top box and you’re free to only get it from the cable company.

It wasnt the plan the FCC really wanted, but it was a decent compromise.

That plan has now been shelved as well.

Chairman Pai, on the other hand,removed it from circulation.

As for whether Pai will tackle the issue at all, its unclear.

Nine companies (including FreedomPopand Boomerang) were approved to join in this program.

However, Pai hasrescinded their Lifeline designation, which means that some customers will miss out on the subsidy.

However, Pai has not commented specifically on whether these nine companies will get their Lifeline status back.

Fortunately, the Lifeline program itself doesnt appear to be at risk for now.

How the FCC views net neutrality, however, is changing drastically and bigger changes may be coming.

Asweve explained here, Title II is shorthand for a very old law that governed utilities like phone lines.

The FCC can choose whether or not to enforce the existing regulations.

These rules required ISPs to make public disclosures about their pricing, fees, and data caps.

The previous FCC envisioned this as a sort of nutrition label for broadband providers.

While Title II isnt perfect, itsa pretty popular planoutside the FCC.

Significant public pressure may keep Pai from pushing forward with a total backtrack.

Pai has openly said his plan is to take a weed whacker to regulation.