Re: Baffling
""...to think that mains water, power grid and tarmac roads all got rolled out to 'unprofitable' areas of the UK without the big fuss"
The cost was socialised. Urban dwellers subsidised rural ones"
Not the case. Initially, many of these new technologies were charged at the rate the market could bear by private organisations. Electricity, for example, was charge at a higher rate to rural areas pre-WW2 as the line plant etc to deliver it to remote locations was expensive. And at the time, it wasn't viewed as an essential product as people had gas lighting. Turnpike roads were brought up to a good standard by virtue of the charges levied to use them.
It's only in the later phase when a thing gets so commonplace as to be seen as an essential part of life for the great majority that some form of communal model occurs. When that model is run or moderated by a national government they often go with a 'standard charge for all citizens' approach. Which means that those people who are cheaper to serve often subsidise those more expensive to serve.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
