This. Only a few years ago Hacker News commenters were crying out for new laws and regulations to subsidize the construction of Google Fiber to every home in America. “It’s a basic human right” they would say.
On the sideline there were a much, much smaller minority who looked at those comments in horror, with the context of knowing that wireless was a serious alternative that wasn’t that far away and was being broadly ignored
>> wireless was a serious alternative that wasn’t that far away
But it really isn't. There are hard physics limits on how much data can be transmitted within a given frequency band. Fiber total theoretical bandwidth is is essentially infinite in comparison. All the traffic of the entire internet could probably flow through a single fiber bundle perhaps less than a meter wide. For things like streaming 4k/8k/12k (real 4/8/12k) to multiple devices, wifi will never compete with fixed lines.
I don't see the problem? I have FTTH. I can get 10 Gbps. I don't want wireless, it's an unreliable last resort. If I have the option I'm absolutely going with fiber.
It's also the better long term tech. Fiber has enormous capacity, while wireless is a shared medium impeded by things like walls, and those problems get worse with the increased frequencies needed for more bandwidth.
The network neutrality discussion belongs in the same bucket. People thought it would be the end of the open internet if there wasn’t a dedicated regulation.
Interesting. I'm not sure "the entire west coast and huge swaths of the midwest and east coast have passed state-level net neutrality laws" is correct if this linked map is to be believed: https://www.naruc.org/nrri/nrri-activities/net-neutrality-tr...
Huge parts of the US apparently do not have such legislation, and it is unclear which states that "proposed" it have put it into law.
On the sideline there were a much, much smaller minority who looked at those comments in horror, with the context of knowing that wireless was a serious alternative that wasn’t that far away and was being broadly ignored