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by ajross
846 days ago
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> Plenty of countries have better (faster and/or cheaper) broadband options than most of the US, without having any Google involvement. Those countries have governments willing to regulate for the benefit of the consumer, or else to provide the service directly[1]. That there are better ways to do something doesn't mean it's not valuable to have done. [1] Almost nowhere, in any market, had competing gigabit landlines in residential areas over the timeframe discussed. "Competition" is absolutely not the solution here. |
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Suppose the government owned the utility poles or trenches along the roads, paid for them in the same way as they pay for the roads, and access to use them was provided to all comers for free. All you have to do is fill out some basic paperwork and follow some basic rules to make sure you're not cutting someone else's lines etc.
People would install it. You -- an individual -- could go out and put fiber in the trench on your street, wire up the whole street, pool everybody's monthly fee and use it to pay for transit.
The reason people don't do this is that it's illegal, or to do it without it being illegal would require millions of dollars in legal fees and compliance costs and pole access charges.