Many internet users let out a collective shout of outrage at the end of last year when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to dismantle existing rules around net neutrality. According to chairman Ajit Pai, the rationale behind doing so was to incentivize innovation and investment in a sector that was languishing under what he considers to be “heavy-handed” regulations.

For Pai, the regulations put in place during the Obama administration were a “mistake.” Because broadband companies were the ones that had to take on the expense of providing and maintaining the high-speed broadband infrastructure, the theory goes, they were unable to invest in the places that needed that infrastructure the most, namely lower-income and rural areas. Moreover, because net neutrality prevented broadband companies from charging heavy users of the internet more, providers were essentially subsidizing people’s internet usage -- thus reducing the number of resources available for innovation.

Of course, the reality is that most broadband companies are unlikely to, of their own accord, take the step of building out infrastructure in the places that need it. Without a financial incentive, the odds of a company like Verizon choosing to lay down fiber in the towns of Appalachia are, shall we say, slim. In fact, in April of last year, the FCC decided to expand an existing subsidy for phone service for lower-income families to include broadband service, only to find that telecom companies were choosing to opt out of the program.