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Wow!! What a great article...a real eye opener.
Here in Oz the Government is no longer involved in communications, it is now all free enterprise. The hope was that competition would regulate pricing (keep it affordable). In theory that should work but in practice, as with many other commodities, collusion is the enemy....a check of plan prices from our major ISP's will soon reveal that there is little to pick between them.....so much for competition!
cheers...JIM
I'm a little confused about what you stated concerning Broadband using a special cable. I get it via phone line, yes to using a special modem (but that's standard, since I get voice on the same line using filters to block the high frequency), I do peak at 4.5 Meg/sec but the phone line entering my home is the same as for regular phone service, 4 wires (two pair twisted I believe they call it - where only the red and green are used). I could get a service from a Cable company (this is where the coax cable is used), and the modem they supply also allows for phone service via the cable line, thus removing the need for a phone line.
I've heard of incidents where a fibre cable can be used to enter a home/business, but believe it's for super high speed access, Mindblower!
Mindblower, The article is referring to infrastructure, not the actual connection from the neighborhood phone box to your house.
Thanks for the enlightment. Should of know better, since the article came from you, Mindblower! 
