From: ldo@nz.invalid   
      
   On 12 Aug 2025 13:36:15 +0100 (BST), Theo wrote:   
      
   > To move into broadband they couldn't have had a national service like   
   > they did with dialup, they needed the phone company to install DSL   
   > modems or fiber in your particular area.   
      
   The way it worked here in NZ was, during the last-but-one Labour   
   Government under Helen Clark, they passed a law forcing Telecom, the-then   
   owner of the copper network, to “unbundle the local loop”. That meant it   
   had to allow third-party equipment into neighbourhood junction boxes on an   
   equal basis to its own Internet service, so they could make use of the   
   existing copper lines into people’s houses to offer whatever services the   
   residents wanted.   
      
   That was the “big bang” for broadband in NZ. That has worked well for   
   about the last 20 years, and now we are finally getting rid of all that   
   copper, and moving everyone to fibre. And the governance structure has   
   been a bit more carefully thought out this time: the owner-operator of the   
   physical fibre network has from the beginning been kept separate from the   
   service providers who actually use it to connect customers. This is to   
   ensure fair competition and avoid conflicts of interest.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)