Cable lobby: Internet rules could be tied up in court for five years

Net neutrality rules slated for a vote this week are likely to be tied up with lawsuits for the next two to five years, according to the head of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA).

Michael Powell, president of the group that opposes the new authority, has previously suggested the NCTA could be one of a number of organizations to join in litigation.  

“To put it briefly, litigation with FCC appeals is a pretty long, drawn-out process,” he said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “I would predict that it’s at least two and up to five years before the rules are fully and finally settled.”

A previous net neutrality order was approved in 2010, before being thrown out by the courts last year, setting off the current rulemaking process. 

“If you look at the current set of net neutrality rules in 2010, it’s 2015 and we still don’t have a new set, and this debate has gone on for a decade,” he said. 

Republicans and Internet service providers, like the ones represented by NCTA, have strenuously opposed the plan to reclassify broadband under regulations governing traditional telephones, which would give the commission more authority to enforce open Internet rules. 

Powell resigned that the FCC is “locked and loaded” to go forward with a vote Thursday. But he continued to push for legislation through Congress, which could sideline the threat of lawsuits. 

“[This] issue is ripe for Congress to fix, which would moot all the litigation,” he said. “And of course from an investment standpoint: Companies have to understand what the settled nature of the law is. They have understood the law for 15 years and suddenly that is going to be radically transformed to a new style of regulation, which is going to prompt a whole myriad of questions that are going to await answers. And I think that is going to have an impact on investment choices.”