&gt; Take the upper mid-west for example: Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit are relatively easy (cheap) to wire up...<p>Why does Chattanooga, TN have gigabit symmetric FTTP service for $70&#x2F;month, [0] when San Francisco, CA, New York, NY, or those cities that you mentioned don&#x27;t have <i>anything</i> comparable?<p>Hint: It&#x27;s not a population density problem. It&#x27;s a political problem. Internet service over municipally-owned infrastructure is <i>so</i> cost effective that the incumbent players have work <i>very</i> hard to make it illegal in <i>many</i> districts. [1]<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;epbfi.com&#x2F;internet&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;epbfi.com&#x2F;internet&#x2F;</a><p>[1] If you find yourself thinking that this is a reasonable move, ask yourself: &quot;Why do we deliver electricity, water, and sewerage service over municipally-owned infrastructure, but balk at doing the same for Internet service?&quot;