The $53,000 Connection: The High Cost of High-Speed Internet for Everyone::Officials doling out billions of dollars for broadband in rural America are struggling to decide when a new hookup costs too much

  • Y|yukichigai
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    5510 months ago

    This just feels like a repeat of Rural Electrification: yeah it’s expensive and not immediately profitable, but we’re at the point where it’s necessary to be a part of modern society.

    • @Steve@communick.news
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      10 months ago

      And just like then. The feds should require every home to have a fiber line installed. Don’t even give them money to do it. Just tell them they need to get it done themselves, or the government will do it without them.

    • @Kache@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      Agree in the ideal, but in practice fiber is often still unavailable in suburban areas and even urban ones too, in the US.

      I’m no expert, but it seems much more efficient to prioritize those areas over rural ones.

    • @foggy@lemmy.world
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      510 months ago

      Yep.

      And allowing it to concentrate in areas centralizes wealth in those areas.

      If you live in an area where your only internet option is satellite, your net worth is probably low, or you’re retired.

      Doesn’t need to be this way.

      • @PsychedSy@sh.itjust.works
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        410 months ago

        I know a lot of people that have been in that situation that are younger and certainly not poor. Fiber is slowly creeping out there.

    • FiveMacs
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      110 months ago

      Don’t forget that it’s 100% profit now too…not like this shit ain’t new.