[justapassenger]

USA built out its internet infrastructure earlier than most of the developing nations, who now, almost universally, have better connectivity.

That caused two things:

1. Coming later to the game, you don’t need to deal with legacy infra, that’s there, costed huge amount of money, and replacing it will cost even more (like cable connections to the houses)

2. USA has a general approach of building out infra in sprints, and then neglecting it until next sprint. Few examples - credit cards and their security, roads, space program, internet infra. And while it’s more complicated, politics are large reason for it. It’s much less catchy to say “I’ll spend $500B to maintain X”, then “I’ll spend $1000B to build Y”.

[908B64B197]

I wonder if there is maybe less red tape in SA to roll out fiber?

Or a desire of the country to strengthen it's tech sector.

[ip26]

USA built out its internet infrastructure earlier...

It's a story that repeats itself. See the Type A electrical outlet, imperial measurement, measuring cups, etc

[fl0wenol]

While the sentiment is generally understood, you should really mention that the type B didn't fix the main issue of Type A, in that it didn't recess the face and/or extend the prongs with a protective sleeve.