Looking at the statement "Another option, to take the fibres to street-level boxes", isn't that basically what VM are doing at the moment? I.e. fibre to the head and then distibuted in copper and coax to the consumer.
With regard to covering the whole country this would (indeed) be an expensive exercise if it meant digging up the streets to lay the cables. However (as the fibe optic cables are relativelly slim and carry only light - not power) what's to stop anyone from routing same down the middle of a gas, water or sewer main? Surely if the existing infrastructure is already present why not use it?
All that would be required is co-operation between the various services,
to allow the cables to be routed within the existing underground systems, which (in itself) would provide additional benefits for those services. For example, a fibre optic link could be run unto every household to interface with the consumers utility equipment to automatically monitor the gas and electricty usage.
Other option would be the use of cables on poles (like telephone connections) to each household, even then (again) the telephone connection infrastructure already exists, so it's not as if majour works would be involved.
Oh sorry, must be careful in what I say - don't wish to be accused of logical thought.
Then again, we are famous (in this country) for continuously reinventing the wheel.
Si thee
