Thanks for collecting these sources. Let's keep in mind that ISPs were investing $40 billion+
per year of their own money in wired broadband networks during the 2000-2010 timeframe, and maybe $30 billion+ in the 2010-2020 timeframe. Conservatively, you're talking about well over half a trillion since 2000, and that’s excluding wireless.
> https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131012/02124724852/decad....
This is a state-level tax-break from 1994 of about $2.1 billion. There's probably a few more like this scattered around, but I don't think there are many, because the Pennsylvania one is always the one that comes up.
> https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150126/04502529814/what-....
This is referring to the Pennsylvania subsidies, above.
> https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200127/09334443804/look-....
This is the CAF funding I'm referring to. The article also references the Pennsylvania subsidies, and the New York FiOS rollout, which didn't involve any subsidies at all.
> https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200414/07290544296/fcc-s....
This is about future subsidies.
> https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/08/isps-want-to-be-....
Also about CAF, mentions $1.5 billion per year.
Obviously, billions of dollars of government funding that’s not delivered the desired results is a problem in its own right. I’m not well versed in rural issues so I don’t really know what the problems were there. My point simply is that the government never tried to build a “nationwide network” like OP suggested, not do these failed projects add up to even a year’s worth of the investment that would be required to actually do that.