Years ago I read many complaints about how the U.S. government handed out hundreds of millions of dollars to telcos (in what form I don't know or remember) to build out their fiber networks, but they just never did it... and kept the money.
Now I can't find any reference to that at all. Does that scenario sound familiar to anyone?
Yes, something from the 90s. I'm sure HN user rayiner has posted an argument for why that isn't true, so maybe search comment history for fiber or broadband or subsidy to find arguments and the surrounding counterarguments?
They laid the fiber, they just didn't use it (for consumers). Google Fiber started out by just buying up a bunch of unused fiber lines that had been sitting there for years.
Now I can't find any reference to that at all. Does that scenario sound familiar to anyone?