Why the FCC's Free-Market Argument for Repealing Net Neutrality Doesn't Hold Up

In making the case that most Americans have multiple, competing broadband providers, the government acknowledges that up to 40 percent of them do not.

So, will the free market preserve a free internet? Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai argues it will, but its own numbers raise some doubts. If you consider “broadband” to require landlines, there’s a good chance that upholding net neutrality is at the discretion of your one provider, under no competitive pressure to deliver the best service for consumers. If you count your current wireless plan, or optimism for future wireless, you have more chances–but still no legal guarantee–that the free market will preserve a free internet.