> somehow magically acquire more competition

Hard to do when anything and everything involving telecom is decidedly not free market. Just some larger obstructions:

* Zoning permits

* Getting permission to lay wire, even through private property

* Wireless Spectrum Ownership

* Zoning permits on broadcast towers

* Anti-competitive pressure through corrupt state institutions by incumbents against potential competition

* Absurdity of having a half dozen ISPs all running their own fiber lines under roads

Totally agree on all points. Personally I think local-loop unbundling (UK-style) is probably the only viable way to get more competition back.

It's weird to pine for the good ol' days of dialup internet, but when anyone could offer internet services over a common leased infrastructure (the phone system) there was vibrant competition.

I'm optimistic that we'll find a solution - "community broadband", "shared WiFi" etc.

The problems we are seeing are because corporations are already failing as an infrastructure.

It would be much easier to do shared wifi if we weren't trapped on a fraction of the potential wireless bandwidth that is not owned by some big business. Our communication demands are only excelling as time goes on and most metropolitan areas have intense spectrum clutter while we still have the current infrastructure. Imagine trying to route most of the Internet around wirelessly on just the 2.4 and 5ghz bands.

Corporations are failing because the government is setting them up for failure through regulation. It's not easy to start an ISP and as your sibling poster noted, it is not because of technical issues, but the laws that are in place.