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> unfortunately for usenet now we have a problem: fast majority of servers are down... In the past ANY ISP, universities, many companies offer nntp server, now we have only very, very few...

There are fewer, but not exactly "very, very few": http://top1000.anthologeek.net/

Because Usenet is fully distributed, the high number of site-local servers in the past was in large part about reducing bandwidth costs (having a Usenet server on your network is a lot like having a caching proxy, but even more effective).

Running your own text groups Usenet server has also never been cheaper. Most small Usenet server operators will be happy to peer with you, as long as you have a static IP.

The market for binary newsgroup providers is also healthy, but that is not about discussions anymore.