How expensive the laying operation is? Are they using some existing channels / piping / utility poles? The last mile is usually the biggest problem and expense.
Yeah that was Longmont, CO's big expense. We had a fiber ring around town since '96 or something, used for traffic light management I guess? It took about three years to get the fiber to most peoples' doorsteps.[1]
They used existing poles here. I'm pretty sure that a big part of the cost is funded by a U.S. gov grant designed to get rural areas high speed internet.