Oh dear lord
"have the government own the backbone of the system and be responsible for its upgrades/maintenance"
So they can do as good a job with our telecommunications infrastructure as they do with the roads?
Get the government OUT of telecommunications at all. The regulatory costs and hurdles of entering the telecom market are so insanely high that they artificially keep competitors out of the market.
One WiMAX node can easily cover 4-5 miles, providing wireless internet, voice and video service. Clearwire (a WiMAX based carrier) planned on a node every 1.5 miles to maintain quality of service. The cost to provide internet, voice and video to the same population using wired or 4G services is many times higher.
Why doesn't Clearwire rule the telecom markets? The regulatory burdens are HUGE and the embedded carriers do everything they can to keep them out. Government isn't the answer, it's the problem.
