To secure DirecTV, AT&T will reportedly agree to abide by FCC’s net neutrality rules

According to a report in The Washington Post, AT&T is prepared to live by the FCC’s newly minted net neutrality regulations in order to clear the path for its proposed takeover of DirecTV. For a period of years following the acquisition, AT&T would agree not to slow, block, or prioritize data traveling to or from any internet service. It’s a similar pact to the one worked out by Comcast when they acquired NBC Universal, a deal the cable giant may now be under investigation for violating.

There is no shortage of irony to the idea that AT&T could win approval for a deal increasing consolidation in the market for internet and television by agreeing to a limited acceptance of FCC rules constructed to prevent abuse of monopoly power in these same markets. And while AT&T might end up having to toe the line on the new net neutrality regulations for a few years, it reportedly won’t prevent it from suing the FCC to overturn those same rules through various trade groups.

This is a separate fight from the one AT&T is having with the FTC, which sued the wireless carrier for what it described as deceptive practices around its unlimited data plans. Unfortunately, no matter how that goes, AT&T would only be looking at a fine, not an order, to resurrect unlimited data. Now there is a merger condition we could get behind.