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I live in a suburb in a medium city in Latin America and can choose between at least 4 different fiber providers. The situation in the US is quite puzzling.

ec109685 6y ago
How does the competition work? Are four different companies each laying down independent fiber cables?
- toomanybeersies 6y ago
  Generally in a similar way that it's possible to choose your electricity provider without needing 4 separate power lines outside your house. Retail service providers sell plans to consumers, an in turn buy access from wholesalers.
- gtirloni 6y ago
  Yes, they each have different fiber cables. They all share the same poles owned by the power company.
technofiend 6y ago
>The situation in the US is quite puzzling. You'd think we would be leading the world in broadband speeds, right? In reality as long as broadband providers aren't forced to upgrade by either legislation or competition there's no reason to spend money on upgrades for an already captive customer base.
- sgtnoodle 6y ago
  The beautiful thing with the US is that the natural modern solution is to build huge networks of satellites in low Earth orbit.
tartoran 6y ago
It’s the same story over again, a powerful group milks their investments without care for the consumer. I remember the cellphone service was lagging, crappy and more expensive than in a lot of other countries in the 00s. Now it’s the broadband. In NYC, a city that should see a lot of competition, almost everywhere you live have one broadband option and if you’re lucky two. And it’s expensive since it was coupled with cable and a lot of people gave up on cable we end up sortof paying virtually for cable, meaning the price went up so much its comparable to cable+broadabnd some years ago. Not to mention that you’re paying rent for the modem like $5-6/month. Ofc if you look into it you can buy your own and not rent theirs but the majority of prople have no idea.
- JohnTHaller 6y ago
  Verizon agreed to rollout fiber all across NYC by 2014 as a part off their franchise agreement. Spoiler: They didn't. NYC sued them in 2017 for it. Last year Verizon agreed to wire up another 500k homes, getting them to about 90% of NYC... by 2023. I still can't get fiber from anyone where I live in NYC.
- scintill76 6y ago
  > Ofc if you look into it you can buy your own and not rent theirs But there's always the fear they will keep charging you rent anyways, and/or charge you for not returning "their" unit when you close your account.

ec109685 6y ago

How does the competition work? Are four different companies each laying down independent fiber cables?

toomanybeersies 6y ago
Generally in a similar way that it's possible to choose your electricity provider without needing 4 separate power lines outside your house. Retail service providers sell plans to consumers, an in turn buy access from wholesalers.
gtirloni 6y ago
Yes, they each have different fiber cables. They all share the same poles owned by the power company.

technofiend 6y ago

>The situation in the US is quite puzzling. You'd think we would be leading the world in broadband speeds, right? In reality as long as broadband providers aren't forced to upgrade by either legislation or competition there's no reason to spend money on upgrades for an already captive customer base.

sgtnoodle 6y ago
The beautiful thing with the US is that the natural modern solution is to build huge networks of satellites in low Earth orbit.

tartoran 6y ago

It’s the same story over again, a powerful group milks their investments without care for the consumer. I remember the cellphone service was lagging, crappy and more expensive than in a lot of other countries in the 00s. Now it’s the broadband. In NYC, a city that should see a lot of competition, almost everywhere you live have one broadband option and if you’re lucky two. And it’s expensive since it was coupled with cable and a lot of people gave up on cable we end up sortof paying virtually for cable, meaning the price went up so much its comparable to cable+broadabnd some years ago. Not to mention that you’re paying rent for the modem like $5-6/month. Ofc if you look into it you can buy your own and not rent theirs but the majority of prople have no idea.

JohnTHaller 6y ago
Verizon agreed to rollout fiber all across NYC by 2014 as a part off their franchise agreement. Spoiler: They didn't. NYC sued them in 2017 for it. Last year Verizon agreed to wire up another 500k homes, getting them to about 90% of NYC... by 2023. I still can't get fiber from anyone where I live in NYC.
scintill76 6y ago
> Ofc if you look into it you can buy your own and not rent theirs But there's always the fear they will keep charging you rent anyways, and/or charge you for not returning "their" unit when you close your account.