Why America's Telecom System Stinks - PC World

[ShawnD1]

The situation here in Japan is ideal, IMHO.

The lines (mostly fiber in the city) are owned by NTT, which were installed subsidized by the national gov't. I pay approx. US$20 a month for access to these lines.

After, I'm free to chose any one of the competing ISPs to offer service over those lines. Each is allowed agnostic access meaning the barrier to enter the market is much lower than in the US or Canada and competition here is fierce. My current service is 50Mbps VDSL for US$20 a month.

Sounds a lot like how electricity works where I live. The electrical grid is owned by a company that I think is owned by the government, but the power I'm using is purchased from competing companies.