Re: Simple solution works everywhere
Any provider that wants to offer service simply establishes a presence in the carrier-neutral central office, and immediately has access to all of the town's subscribers.
That might work for access to POTS, ie basic telephony. Problem with delivering Internet services is the distance. Telephone lines & services can work over a couple of kilometers, high speed broadband, much less so.
The problem the US has (along with other countries) is simple geography. Towns may have a minimum lot size, so populations are more spread out and the cost of cabling is higher. Regulations may allow CO access, but often don't for branch exchanges where you'd need to place active kit. Or you'd need to get permits to build street cabs, power those and cable to end points.
Munis could help themselves by local ordinances that mandate duct provision and sharing for new developments, but that doesn't help existing. Adding full or microducting is a marginal additional cost on new roads, but a lot more expensive to do stand-alone, especially if there's costs for traffic management thrown in.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
