The rural region where I grew up has always been neglected by big telcos, so there were multiple local ones offering the same as the big ones, but for cheaper, or deep in the countryside.

Every village had its local phone company because Bell didn't think they were profitable enough to deserve service. Unfortunately the last independent provider, Maskatel, was bought by Bell in 2018.

There is only one left, Cooptel, and it's a cooperative. This is how my parents living on a rural road can get FTTH. If it weren't for the fact that it's a cooperative, Bell would probably have bought it too.

It's frustrating to see that big telcos won't put a cent into building a network into rural areas because they see no profit in it, but once a small local company becomes successful in doing that, they often end up being bought by big telcos.

Recently I learned telus was the Alberta state run telco until it was sold under shocking terms during Mulroney. The govt agreed to buy it back at a loss if it wasn't profitable after a couple of years!