 There are of course a smattering of smaller, more rural-focused telcos (Windstream, Frontier, Fairpoint, CenturyLink), but like their larger incumbent brothers, investor pressure has them treating network upgrades as some kind of disease, leaving them incapable of adequately competing with cable services and speeds. Fortunately for them, most of them operate in uncompetitive markets where they can jack up costs and skimp on improvements as they see fit. Unfortunately for you, a stronger cable monopoly means an even less competitive market than we've had. A less competitive market means even higher prices and lower-quality service -- a major problem given that by nearly every objective metric (speed, price, penetration) the United States was already There are of course a smattering of smaller, more rural-focused telcos (Windstream, Frontier, Fairpoint, CenturyLink), but like their larger incumbent brothers, investor pressure has them treating network upgrades as some kind of disease, leaving them incapable of adequately competing with cable services and speeds. Fortunately for them, most of them operate in uncompetitive markets where they can jack up costs and skimp on improvements as they see fit. Unfortunately for you, a stronger cable monopoly means an even less competitive market than we've had. A less competitive market means even higher prices and lower-quality service -- a major problem given that by nearly every objective metric (speed, price, penetration) the United States was already 