One idiot's ill-informed op-ed in Punch isn't worth citing.
In the US, the usual situation is that there is DSL provided by one's local phone company plus internet provided by one's cable TV company. The latter is often cheaper, but often forces users to have cable TV, even if they don't want it. The fibre options, such as Verizon's FIOS, are only available if you happen to live in an area serviced by their phone lines. There is, to my knowledge, no provision for other telcos to get access to one's local exchange. It's like Australia was pre-DSL2+, when Telstra controlled the exchanges and all DSL was just resold from Telstra.
no subject
In the US, the usual situation is that there is DSL provided by one's local phone company plus internet provided by one's cable TV company. The latter is often cheaper, but often forces users to have cable TV, even if they don't want it. The fibre options, such as Verizon's FIOS, are only available if you happen to live in an area serviced by their phone lines. There is, to my knowledge, no provision for other telcos to get access to one's local exchange. It's like Australia was pre-DSL2+, when Telstra controlled the exchanges and all DSL was just resold from Telstra.