Those fools were given billions of dollars to upgrade the stuff by state and local governments and never followed through. They either need to write a check on

Those fools were given billions of dollars to upgrade the stuff by state and local governments and never followed through. They either need to write a check on the order of about $50 billion, or they need to follow through on what they promised. Let's all pretend they didn't just run fiber in the areas they needed it for cell towers and ignored everything else. And as for profitability - it's a long-term investment. If they're laying the right fiber, it will last them a LONG time without needing to be replaced.