Rural areas in the US have enjoyed disproportionate communications (and infrastructure in general) subsidies since the founding of the USPS. More recently, the Universal Service Fund has spent around $5-8B per year since the 90s, first on phone service then adding broadband. And there are more recent broadband efforts for broadband in the tens of $Bs.
How effective have these efforts been at getting broadband access in rural communities? And comparatively, how effective have they been at giving a revenue source for telcos that they haven't had to really deliver on promises for?
