A monopoly ISP refuses to fix upstream infrastructure

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Monopoly incentives and neglected infrastructure

  • Many see the core issue as structural monopoly: with no real alternative, the ISP has no financial incentive to maintain outside plant or fix node-level faults.
  • Multiple commenters report identical patterns: years of intermittent outages, countless truck rolls blaming “inside wiring” or customer equipment, and fixes that only happen when competition or regulators apply pressure.
  • Some tie this to a broader pattern of legacy infrastructure (copper, coax) being milked instead of replaced with fiber, despite public subsidies.

Technical theories about the outages

  • Several technically detailed comments focus on DOCSIS behavior:
    • Possible RF ingress or cracked lines causing OFDM/3.1 resets, while 3.0 may appear stable.
    • Leaky or under‑spec splitters and in‑wall coax that work up to ~1 Gbps but fail at 1.2 Gbps+ frequencies.
    • Node-level interference affecting multiple homes on the same tap.
  • Others argue the highly regular timing suggests misconfigured network equipment or periodic resets, not random RF noise; there is disagreement here.
  • One late comment from a company insider claims node and neighborhood look “clean” and points to a likely failing customer modem model.

Alternatives: Starlink, 5G, DSL, fiber

  • Strong disagreement on whether Starlink/5G count as “competition”:
    • Pro: usable speeds (often 100–400 Mbps), breaks cable monopolies, good backup.
    • Con: higher latency, CGNAT, variable speeds, weather issues, and not equivalent to symmetric gigabit—especially for self‑hosting, VPNs, or low‑jitter needs.
  • Several say they’d gladly trade gigabit for a rock‑solid 50–100 Mbps; others insist 1 Gbps+ should be a basic expectation in 2025.

Escalation tactics that actually worked

  • Numerous stories of local/state escalation leading to rapid fixes:
    • Complaints to FCC, public utility commissions, or municipal franchise offices.
    • Mayors’ hotlines or “executive support” channels inside ISPs.
    • Old‑school letters or FedEx to executives, or public shaming on social media.
  • Some advocate withholding payment or disputing charges; others warn of collections and credit risks.

Broader policy and structural fixes

  • Recurring themes:
    • Need for municipal fiber or open‑access networks as a natural monopoly utility.
    • Frustration with lobbying that blocks public networks and weakens regulation.
    • Anecdotes from Europe/India where FTTH is common reinforce that the US situation is viewed as avoidable, not inevitable.