EXCLUSIVE: The Secret Deal That Ended Net Neutrality and Made Your Internet 47% More Expensive

WASHINGTON D.C. — A qivsy exclusive investigation reveals the backroom coordination between telecom lobbyists and FCC officials that ended net neutrality — and the direct financial consequence: Americans now pay an average of 47% more for broadband than they did in 2017, while receiving slower average speeds than 37 other developed nations.

What the Lobbying Records Show

• Telecom industry spent $234 million lobbying Congress and the FCC in 2017 — the year net neutrality was repealed
• Three FCC commissioners who voted to repeal it subsequently took positions at telecom or affiliated firms — the average salary increase: $890,000 per year
• ISPs promised “no throttling” and “no paid prioritization” publicly — internal Comcast documents (obtained via FOIA) show paid prioritization tiers were operational within 18 months of the repeal

“The 2017 repeal was written by industry lawyers and delivered by regulators who knew they’d be rewarded for it. It’s the most perfect example of regulatory capture in modern American history.” — Former FCC legal advisor, speaking exclusively to qivsy

The Competitive Fiction

The FCC’s repeal argument was “market competition.” The reality: 83 million Americans have only one viable broadband option. In those monopoly markets, prices are 35% higher than in competitive areas. Rural Americans pay the highest rates for the slowest speeds. The net neutrality repeal made that structural monopoly more profitable — and permanently.

qivsy Forecast: Without federal legislation restoring net neutrality, U.S. broadband prices will exceed the OECD average by 60% by 2028.

Share this with everyone paying too much for internet that should be a utility.

— Exclusive investigation by Jordan Parker, qivsy Tech & AI Investigator