What folks can do when they put their minds to it

[gheesom]

that's not a bad speed, although what are you paying for?

I don't know if it's changed, but the reason that virgin stopped laying cable was the cost, the VOA decided to charge them £2 per metre to lay the cable. but would charge BT £15 per km. the same office also wanted to charge everyone £10 per month tax if we didn't use BT Broadband.

 

[McBain]

that's not a bad speed, although what are you paying for?

I don't know if it's changed, but the reason that virgin stopped laying cable was the cost, the VOA decided to charge them £2 per metre to lay the cable. but would charge BT £15 per km. the same office also wanted to charge everyone £10 per month tax if we didn't use BT Broadband.

Around $60 AUD per month for unlimited here. On the OP story they had 900mbps speed.... I want it.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Broadband is a decreasing cost industry = natural monopolies. The only way it's profitable to build out that type of network on a small scale privately is if 334 people are able to pay half a million for internet access.

If you want people who don't have that kind of income at their disposal to still be able to access the internet, you have to have government intervention.

Mind, I don't know much about broadband in the UK, but I have extensive experience with broadband networks in the US. I'm not defending the status quo, especially in the US where a handful of companies manage to dominate, but Bruce I think you know this is a corner case, and doesn't really demonstrate a scaleable model.

With regard to the money raised through microlending for rural areas: for those investments to be profitable and for the recipients of that investment to not default on their loans, they would still have to charge exorbitant rates of the rural folks, as they're not going to build out in areas where they won't recover their initial costs.

What do you make of services such as this

http://brickstarter.org/

 

[The-Golden-Vision]

You can have the mindset to save the world mate, but it won't happen without money.

The man of steel did it without money, you old cynic you.

 

[Muggins]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21442348

Village in Lancashire have built their own 500mbps fibre optic network because the major suppliers wouldn't touch them.

Why do we need governments to do infrastructure again?

I think that is fantastic. Not necessarily a solution that could be rolled out countrywide with ease like Brennan said. But it shows a determination to use things available to create something that is required. I wonder if the government tried to object or be difficult when they caught wind of this...