last mile, regulatory incentives, etc (was: att fiber, et al)

Thu Mar 22 17:36:27 UTC 2012

On Mar 22, 2012, at 1:24 PM, Keegan Holley wrote:

> What is there that's worth having that isn't controlled by a big company of some sort?

This is done in some places.  eg: http://www.allband.org/

Some states place barriers to establishing a cooperative.  Call your state PUC, there are good people there who will tell you about the unserved areas of the state.  Your universal service fund tax has not made PSTN available to 100% of the US.  The Allband service area just got the telephony services the rest of the country has enjoyed for decades.

There are also many independent phone companies nationwide.  Some are comfortable in their areas, others are pushing to expand.

- Jared