"The opening of Japan's copper phone lines to DSL competition launched a "virtuous cycle" of ever-increasing speed..." They got real performance gains when the

"The opening of Japan's copper phone lines to DSL competition launched a "virtuous cycle" of ever-increasing speed..." They got real performance gains when they decoupled the service provider from the infrastructure provider. Of course, this was implemented through regulation, but I wonder what you could do on an open market. Would it be feasible for consumers to buy into a local fiber network so that they "own" the last mile? That would give them leverage when selecting a provider for TV, Internet, and voice service.