[satvikpendem]

These kinds of speeds are available in Switzerland because their laws state that any fiber laid down must be usable by competitors, so that ISPs must compete on service alone. I wish we had that in other countries as well.

[jauntywundrkind]

We had it in the US but the Courts overruled Congress & demanded the FCC carve out an exception of the required Unbundled Local Element/Local Loop Unbundling requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. By 2001 it was clear we weren't getting unbundled network elements after all. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-03-36A1.pdf

It was & is one of the most stunning activist court decisions to have hit the US ever. Big companies sued, saying fiber was expensive & that they should have sole control over next gen telecommunications technology & the courts ignored the legislative act & handed incumbent powers total control. Revilesome; one of the biggest constraints in US infrastructure in general.

The FCC has been busy 5hese past couple years unwinding remaining requirements for dark fiber & other remaining protections. I somewhat care but the obliteration of last mile protections that enabled competitive carriers to exist at all makes the overall market so unavailable & locked up that it's less relevant.

[klabb3]

This is the way! And not just fiber, but infrastructure in general.

It’s basically combining the short-sighted greed of corporations with the long term potential energy of infra. The combo is incredibly powerful.

Governments typically suck at ops, pricing etc, but digging and drawing lines in the sand they can be pretty good at. Corporations without competition always suck, it’s like having an athlete without a sport. Even if they start out fine, they deteriorate on the couch into an agitated and lazy asshole, monopolizing the remote.

In many parts of Europe, this model is working so well that there are 2-3 competitors that are all good and cheap. Unlike (here) in the US where there is only one, depending on your address, which sucks and is incredibly overpriced.

[ipqk]

But then who pays for laying down the fiber? What company would want to pay that cost when others can use it?

[satvikpendem]

The company pays but then it can also use other companies' fiber, so sometimes it's worth it to do so in order to show that they have coverage in a certain area where there might not be fiber (that they then lay down), and also that they cover everywhere else.

It's quite a clever system that uses market greed to incentivize building. It's the same system as railroads, imagine if railroads could not share tracks with each other.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrangements_between_railroads...

[sschueller]

Grants from the government.

Some places also vote to have the city or town connect with Fiber which then puts tax money aside for it.

In many places it is the power companies that run fiber and they are mostly partially or fully state owned. The lagest ISP also has the state as the majority share holder.

[theultdev]

The government doesn't pay for anything.

It's whether you want to pay through it via tax dollars or directly.

[sschueller]

By government I mean the tax payer. The government made the decision to allocate tax payer money for such things.

As it stimulates the economy similar to how laying new train track does.

[thefz]

Usually there's a separation between transport (physical) and the service (billing and so on). Not the same companies. At least, in Italy there is.

It's the same for power, one or two companies lay the cable, myriad others sell the service.

[lostlogin]

Here in New Zealand the tax payer contracted a lines company to do it. ISPs compete on service but we don’t get 25 - maybe 4 or 8Gbps.

[bbojan]

In my case it was the city. I'm not sure if the providers pay for access or is it free (paid for by taxes).

[thefz]

> These kinds of speeds are available in Switzerland because their laws state that any fiber laid down must be usable by competitors, so that ISPs must compete on service alone. I wish we had that in other countries as well.

In Italy, nobody would lay fiber to stunt the competition.

[boruto]

I think it is same in Germany too. But I have a copper cable.