Marguerite Reardon

Comcast said it has no plans to offer fast lanes on the internet after the Federal Communications Commission eliminates Obama-era regulation, which banned the practice. The nation's biggest cable operator responded to a report from the website Ars Technica, which stated Comcast might be considering offering a service that would charge companies like Netflix and Google to deliver their services more quickly to consumers. In a statement, Comcast denied the claim. "Comcast hasn't entered into any paid prioritization agreements. Period," spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice said.

With T-Mobile tearing up the wireless industry, what's a carrier to do? If you're AT&T, start looking outside the wireless business. AT&T doesn't want to be known as just a telecommunication company anymore. It's using its DirecTV Now streaming service to take control of what you watch and of how you watch it. AT&T owns one of the key services delivering you video through its acquisition last year of DirecTV, and with its pending deal to buy Time Warner, it wants to be the company behind "Game of Thrones" and Superman. But even the Man of Steel can't rescue AT&T as it continues to fall victim to stiff competition that's eroding its core wireless business. Smaller rivals Sprint and T-Mobile have been scooping up its subscribers. It's the same trend that has forced Verizon to make its own acquisitions, although Verizon's bets, like those in AOL and Yahoo, have been relatively smaller ones.

Just two years after adopting its network neutrality rules, the Federal Communications Commission could be on the cusp of tearing them down. Recent comments by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) tease out the underlying argument that the FCC and Republicans will use to dismantle the rules governing internet traffic: that the stricter regulations are just bad for business. It's a recurring theme in many of the actions that the Trump Administration has taken, from slashing funds that would support President Barack Obama's climate and water regulations to the revival of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines.

While it's not certain how they'll dismantle the 2015 rules -- whether it's a new rule-making process from the FCC or through legislation by Congress -- what's clear is they'll likely dangle the promise of a faster move to innovative services like 5G technology for consumers.

A primer on FCC Privacy news.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has wasted no time in scaling back rules passed by his Democratic predecessor, Tom Wheeler. This includes putting the brakes on new rules that govern what companies can do with your online data. Proponents like consumer advocacy groups argue that the rules protect your privacy, while internet service providers say that the regulations are too strict and don't apply to online companies like Facebook and Google. Regardless of whether you think the FCC or the Federal Trade Commission should be the top cop policing internet privacy, the issue of online security isn't going away anytime soon.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai often goes out of his way to be nice. He always has a kind word for colleagues, even when they stand on the opposite side of the aisles. "He made the chairman's life miserable," said Gigi Sohn, a former adviser to the previous head, Tom Wheeler, in reference to their constant ideological clashes. "But I like him. Everyone likes him."

This nice guy is no pushover, though. The 44-year-old chairman has already introduced a number of programs and steered the FCC in a different direction from his predecessor. And he's still gearing up for his biggest move: the takedown of many of the regulations that protect net neutrality, the concept that all internet traffic must be treated as equal. Supporters of the regulations say loosening the rules will only tighten the control that broadband and wireless companies wield today, likely resulting in higher prices for consumers and fewer choices in services. "He's a great guy to have a beer with," Sohn said. "But don't be fooled. He's in favor of dismantling net neutrality and other consumer-friendly policies, and he'll do it with a smile."

Tom Wheeler wasn't expected to be a hero of the open internet. But that's how the outgoing Federal Communications Commission Chairman will be remembered when he leaves his office in January.

In 2015, Chairman Wheeler, a telecom-lobbyist-turned-regulator, pushed through a set of sweeping network neutrality rules that reclassified internet service providers as public utilities. He's also protected consumer privacy by championing stringent regulations, enhanced affordable broadband for low-income families and advocated for competition. "Rather than be the lapdog of industry some feared (or hoped for), Tom Wheeler proved himself to be the most ferocious watchdog for consumers and competition in nearly two decades," said Harold Feld, senior vice president for Public Knowledge. Last week, Chairman Wheeler, 70, gave notice that he will step down on January 20, when President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Fellow Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who wasn't reconfirmed, will leave when her term ends on December 31. When the dust settles, the agency will have a 2-1 Republican majority, putting Chairman Wheeler's legacy in jeopardy.

To help you understand the regulatory hurdles that face AT&T and Time Warner, we've put together this FAQ.

How is the Comcast-NBC Universal deal similar to AT&T's proposed merger with Time Warner?: Like the Comcast-NBC Universal deal, the tie-up between AT&T and Time Warner is called a "vertical" merger. These companies don't directly compete with each other. Via its wireless, broadband and satellite TV networks, AT&T distributes the content Time Warner creates. This differs from AT&T's failed T-Mobile deal in 2011, which was considered a "horizontal" merger. In that scenario, AT&T was attempting to buy a direct competitor. Its businesses and customers overlapped almost all of T-Mobile's footprint.

If the deal had been allowed to go through, there would have been one less competitor in the wireless market. Would you expect regulators to put conditions on this deal?: Definitely. But critics have said AT&T, like Comcast, has demonstrated that it doesn't honor its merger commitments. They point to complaints from the early and mid-2000s when AT&T was gobbling up smaller phone companies, such as SBC and Bell South.

What do you think will happen?: With so many moving parts, it's really hard to say what will happen. Moffett gives the merger only a 50 percent chance of getting approved.

AT&T is hitting the gas on plans to deliver ultra-high-speed broadband to more homes, apartment buildings and businesses. The Dallas-based phone company said it plans to bring the newly branded "AT&T Fiber" service to 11 additional metro areas, which include Gainesville and Panama City (FL); Columbus (GA); Central Kentucky; Lafayette (LA); Biloxi-Gulfport (MI), and Northeast Mississippi; Wilmington (NC); Knoxville and Southeastern Tennessee; and Corpus Christi (TX). AT&T's expansion comes as rival Google Fiber, which was the first major brand to push for gigabit speed broadband at affordable prices, is reportedly scaling back its deployment.

Consolidation in the wireless market could finally result in a third major wireless operator with the network footprint to finally rival AT&T and Verizon, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said.

Networks that offer loads of capacity and fast speeds are important when it comes to competing in the wireless market. So is something as basic as network coverage. But covering rural and suburban markets is expensive.

Today, AT&T and Verizon dominate the US wireless industry with more than 73 percent of all mobile subscribers. One key reason for this dominance is the fact that these providers offer service in more markets than either of the two smaller national carriers, Sprint and T-Mobile. And because Sprint and T-Mobile have far fewer customers than either AT&T or Verizon, neither has the revenue or capital to invest in expansion.

"If you have more customers, you can afford to build a larger network," Hesse said. "Only then do you have the revenue to justify building in smaller suburbs and rural areas."

In order to truly compete against AT&T and Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile need wider network footprints of their own. "If you live in an urban core, you will have access to AT&T and Verizon and you'll also likely have access to T-Mobile and Sprint," Hesse said. "But when you go to less populated areas, Sprint and T-Mobile might not be there."

A Q&A with Verizon's vice president David Young. Netflix has been accusing Verizon and other Internet service providers, such as Comcast, of not providing enough network capacity to handle an increase in demand for its video streaming service, citing this as a cause for the poor performance of its service.

The standoff between the companies is curious given that Verizon and Netflix actually signed a commercial arrangement in April, which should improve Netflix performance on Verizon's network. Apparently, Netflix is still unhappy about the outcome of that deal.

Young denied that Verizon is throttling Netflix.

“What seems to be occurring is that there is congestion on the connection between Netflix and our network, which is what is causing the video to buffer for some Verizon FiOS subscribers,” he said. Rather than throttling, he said the congestion was simply caused by the high demand of customers trying to utilize the network. He said it was not Verizon’s responsibility to provide another company like Netflix free upgrades to the service.