Here Come The Net Neutrality Lawsuits...

Although the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has passed a set of regulations that protects net neutrality by classifying the internet as a public utility, the rules are far from being set in stone and broadband providers are already looking to keep it that way.

This week two petitions against the FCC rules were filed as big-name telecom's settled in for a long fight.

Already?

The U.S. Telecom Association and Alamo Broadband both filed petitions on Monday to ensure that they would have a chance to fight the new rules before the deadline for filing expired.

Alamo said the petitions were filed so early because some of the FCC's language describing the timing for lawsuits was ambiguous. U.S. Telecom similarly said it was being overly cautious to avoid being barred from challenging the ruling.

Bring It On

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler warned that the filings could be dismissed for being submitted so early, but either way he said he is behind the new rules 100 percent.

Related Link: Cybersecurity Firms Are Ready To Fight For Government Contracts

The FCC has been expecting legal backlash from internet providers who made a barrage of threats when the regulations were being decided. The commission says the rules are completely legit and that it is prepared to back them up in court.

Speaking Of Threats

With the new rules officially on the table, most are expecting to see a long legal dispute before any real changes are made. So far, no cable companies have directly petitioned the FCC as Verizon did in 2010, but the U.S. Telecom Association represents the interests of big names like AT&T Inc. (NYSE: ATT), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and a variety of other smaller providers.

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was very vocal about plans to fight back against the new rules by suing the FCC and withdrawing planned investment in the company's network, but so far the company has yet to make good on those threats.