4 ms·
> where all the ISPs share some portion of the network (in Openreach’s case, the last-mile network) so every ISP has to build every last inch to the home themse
by postingawayonhn 4y ago
> where all the ISPs share some portion of the network (in Openreach’s case, the last-mile network) so every ISP has to build every last inch to the home themselves
There could be though if US regulators wanted too.
In my country (New Zealand) for example the government did a deal during the switch from copper to fiber that regulated the network owners. A network owner would get exclusive rights to install their cables in a particular city and in return they would be prohibited from retail sales and would have to provide wholesale access to their network to ISPs at regulated prices.
Now something like 90% of the country has access to at least gigabit fiber (up to 8 gigabit available in some areas) and a choice of a dozen or so ISPs.
- bobthepanda 4y agoThis is where the US federal structure starts getting in the way. The federal government only has jurisdiction over interstate matters and things defined in the constitution; anything not explicitly declared like this is a state-level matter. The monopoly ISP situation is an issue at the local, not federal level, and generally speaking the states either do not care or actively block more amenable regulation. (States also have limited fiscal capacity in that bond investors do not give them the same blank check they do to the feds.)