Tech Policy Podcast

#21: Broadband Deployment in America with FCC Comm'r Ajit Pai

Episode Summary

Is broadband being deployed in a “reasonable and timely manner” in the United States? From 1998 on, the FCC always said yes. But in 2010, the FCC abruptly reversed course, declaring market failure. The agency immediately used those findings to increase its authority and justify more Internet regulation. Special guest FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai joins the show to discuss the state of broadband in America, why the FCC ignores the good news on deployment, and the increasing politicization of a supposedly independent agency.

Episode Notes

Is broadband being deployed in a “reasonable and timely manner” in the United States? From 1998 on, the FCC always said yes. But in 2010, the FCC abruptly reversed course, declaring market failure. The agency immediately used those findings to increase its authority and justify more Internet regulation. Special guest FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai joins the show to discuss the state of broadband in America, why the FCC ignores the good news on deployment, and the increasing politicization of a supposedly independent agency.