Building out broadband.(In the loop)(local governments providing broadband services)

I have a colleague who feels "broadbandoned" (apparently a cross between "broadband" and "abandoned"). He laments that he is too far from the central office for DSL, the nearest cable television (and thus cable modem) line is about a mile up the road, there is no local WiFi hot spot, and cell service is hit or miss. I told him that perhaps his telephone company would leapfrog current technology and get fiber right to his premises, and all I heard was a giant scoffing sound on the other end of the line.

His situation, while admittedly extreme, is nonetheless similar to