AT&T chief Randall Stephenson is pushing back on the FCC's net neutrality plan, telling CNBC that lawsuits are likely in the cards.
If the FCC is committed to its current path, "there will be litigation," Stephenson said during a Friday CNBC interview.
He stopped short of saying that AT&T will file that suit; it "may take the form of industry movement," he speculated. But however it happens, "it's quite certain" that a lawsuit is on the horizon.
Stephenson didn't elaborate on the grounds for such a lawsuit, though he did say that the industry will likely ask for a delay in the implementation of whatever rules the FCC votes on later this month.
The FCC's current plan - reclassifying broadband Internet as a telecom service rather than an information service - was proposed in part so that the FCC will either avoid or prevail in such court cases.
The FCC has already been sued twice - and lost - over previous net neutrality plans, so reclassification is a way, according to the commission, for it to establish the authority needed to regulate broadband Internet providers.
The plan has the support of President Obama, but ISPs like AT&T are predictably peeved. Stephenson called the plan "surprising," and said the FCC has lost sight of its initial goal.
"We've been talking about 'net neutrality' for a long time," he said, "and net neutrality used to mean preserving a free and open Internet." But now it's moved "to regulating the Internet."
He pointed to advancements and investment in mobile and fixed Internet services over the last few years. "How do you preserve that and maybe even accelerate that? I think most people, their first answer would not be, regulate the Internet end to end."
AT&T has already taken action in response to the FCC's plan. When the idea of reclassification was first floated, AT&T "paused" the rollout of its gigabit Internet service.
For more, check out what the major players think about the FCC's plan in the slideshow above, as well as 5 Things You Need to Know About the FCC's Net Neutrality Plan.