Net neutrality rules rollback reportedly could start this month

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has started to float details of a possible rollback of the agency's net neutrality rules to industry groups, according to reports from Politico Pro, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters.

The beginning of his efforts could be announced as soon as this month. A proposal would have to be circulated to his fellow commissioners by April 27 to be considered at the agency's May public meeting.

Gritty details: Multiple reports indicate Pai is considering taking steps that would look to stop broadband providers from slowing the delivery of content, blocking it altogether or speeding it up for a fee. Those are core tenants of the 2015 rules. But Pai has been clear that opposes the legal framework, known as Title II, that was used to get there.

Why it matters: This issue is on the radar of internet providers and Silicon Valley companies alike. And Pai's plan is going to raise the ire of liberal Democrats and public interest groups who just vocally opposed Congress's rollback of the FCC's online privacy rules. Expect this one to be a fight.