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A collective action startup could help solve the problem for neighborhoods wanting FTTH. In a Groupon/Kickstarter model, each house commits ~$3,000 toward a goal. When 250 households in a neighborhood commit and collectively commit ~$750,000 (i.e. $3,000 x ~250 homes) then sub contractors lay the fiber in the neighborhood.

As an aside, the Australian government spent ~$4,000 per household to connect each house to FTTH.

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That's already how Google Fiber works:

https://fiber.google.com/how/

A neighborhood has to reach a critical mass of reservations before Google will commit to a rollout.

Which raises the question of whether people could have their own fiber rallies without Google as a gatekeeper.

If they can organize a non-profit org to build out the network and operate it, and get the capital for the equipment, yes.

https://www.google.com/search?q=community+broadband

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