Welcome to the Tech Policy Podcast, your source for policy rants and raves from Tech Freedom,

your Washington, D.C. advocate for the freedom to tinker and innovate. I'm Evan Swartzchrober, your host.

On today's show, broadband deployment in America, is internet infrastructure

being deployed in a reasonable and timely manner? We've got a special guest on the show today to discuss this.

Joining me in our DC studio is FCC Commissioner Ajit Pye. Commissioner, thank you for joining me.

Hey, thanks for having me. Also joining me in our studio is Third Wheel and President of Tech Freedom

Baron Soka. Barron, you couldn't resist joining. No, you couldn't resist having me.

So Monday was the 20th anniversary of the 1996 Telecom Act. And part of that law, Section 706,

charged the FCC with looking at the broadband landscape in America and determining

whether it's being deployed in, quote, a reasonable and timely manner.

So, Commissioner, is broadband being deployed in a reasonable and timely manner?

In the Bush administration, the answer to that question from the FCC was yes, but starting

with the earliest years of the Obama administration, the answer turned that question from the FCC was yes, but starting with the earliest years of the Obama administration,

the answer turned to no.

And this is the seventh chance they've had to answer the question.

The majority again answered no, and I actually joined them, which is unusual.

And part of the reason why I joined them was, as I looked at the array of Obama-era broadband policies,

it occurred to me that they had failed one after another.

Billions of dollars spent on the high-cost program, for example, yet rural America is still being left behind.

Billions more spent on the Lifeline program, yet telephone adoption hasn't increased.

Billions yet more spent on the E-rate program, yet the 91% of schools

don't meet a certain benchmark we have for connectivity. I mean, that kind of expenditure with so

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