They claim this gives unfair advantages to businesses located in larger, richer cities and leaves companies in poorer rural areas behind to fail. However, the service providers are not so much avoiding rural areas as targeting urban areas. They are simply wiring the areas in which installation is easy and projected broadband use is high. Utility companies that have wired their internal services with fiber optics are converting these lines for Internet use. Government Regulation Is the Biggest Barrier If anything is limiting access to broadband Internet services, it is telecommunications regulation.
Federal regulations forbid deploying data networks across random geographic lines.
Local zoning ordinances interfere with new services. Open access laws require the companies that build the broadband network to sell parts of their network at below cost. Cities such as Portland, Oregon, have tried such laws only to see their broadband expansion stall as the city and the service provider argue in court. Conclusion Digital technology and access are spreading at an unprecedented rate. The government cannot make the industry grow any faster.