[cosmicray]

Here is one alternative path. The State of Florida, under the auspices of the North Florida Broadband Authority, is setting up a "middle mile" quasi-government carrier. They will connect to a tier-1 provider (Level3 in this case) and distribute the broadband feed to small rural counties and cities, in an area which is economically disadvantaged (when compared to larger cities in Florida).

While this is capital intensive, they're trying to accomplish something that no private carriers seem to have interest in.

http://www.nfba-fl.org/