I have a rule. Whenever AT&T tries to sell me gigabit fiber-optic internet, I sign up.

They always roll a truck to my house at their expense.

Every time, they discover the fiber is missing. But they refuse to update their maps.

I got suspicious. https://www.theverge.com/22177154/us-internet-speed-maps-competition-availability-fcc

I wrote this for lots of people but especially @KarlBode, who's spent the last two decades warning everyone who would listen about all of this and more

One important thing I didn't manage to fit into this piece: 5G.

The big ISPs will pretend that 5G is a meaningful alternative to wired broadband, even though that doesn't make any sense: the fast flavor of 5G is short range and requires a fiber backbone! https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/6/18212742/5g-broadband-replacement-att-rural-connectivity

We pay some of the highest prices in the world for the most compromised mobile internet, too.

And yet the FCC has already allocated another $9 billion to "rural 5G", nearly as much as it awarded for wired broadband this year. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-361168A1.pdf

When AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon all say they offer nationwide 5G, are we going to let companies like Comcast off the hook because consumers have "options"? Or are we going to recognize that wireless's speeds, latency, and fake "unlimited" plans aren't enough?