Topic: Municipal Broadband

President Obama visited Cedar Falls, Iowa, to promote faster broadband and municipal internet as a competitive advantage for U.S. cities. He compared U.S. speeds unfavorably to cities like Seoul and Tokyo, using an iPad to show a bar graph of download speeds. The hosts criticize the initiative as a push for government-regulated internet and note that Austin, Texas, which has very fast speeds, was omitted from the president's comparison.

Former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps discusses the negative impacts of telecommunications deregulation and the role of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in blocking municipal broadband projects. The analysis highlights how state laws are used to prevent local communities from building their own high-speed internet infrastructure.