What happened to the efforts to provide public internet service in major cities or small ISPs?
I recently tried to find an alternative to Verizon.scam (they try do defraud me by adding some bullshit "services" to my bill without my authorization,) and I discovered that the only alternative to these assholes are: Comcast.scam which provides internet access as an appendage to their grossly overpriced cable service to the tune of $100/mo and wireless telecoms of which the least pricey is Sprint ($60/mo.) Comparing to these ripoffs, Verizon's DSL @ $15/mo is a bargain - so I decided to fight their fraud attempts by filing a complaint with MD Attorney General, instead of relying on the market and the non-existent competition it is supposed to create.
I was, however, surprised that there are no other viable alternatives to Verizon in a major metropolitan area (DC/Baltimore.) AFIK, there used to be small ISP companies (at least in Baltimore), and there was a talk about providing public wireless internet access in major cities - but none of these seem to exist anymore. Are they gone for good, or I am just not looking in the right places?
I got rid of major "staples" of the dreadful "Amerikan dream" including individual home ownership and associated mortgage, car ownership (I use public transit,) television, subscription to wireless telephony (I use pay-as-you-go service by Virgin Mobile (http://www.virginmobileusa.com/) which cost me $20/mo or less comparing to the cheapest subscription @ about $35/mo from Sprint), and credit card debt - I have not paid a penny of usury for the past few years. My goal is to give as little as possible to private financial and non-financial corporations ( I put all my tax refunds to savings instead of spending them too.)
However, internet access is pretty vital to my functioning without these other dubious "goods" provided under the rubric of "Amerikan dream" - so finding a reasonably priced alternative to Verizon is pretty important for me. I figured that if Verizon can provide DSL service for about $15/mo so can someone else. Any suggestions?
Wojtek